Who is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the actor who is in the running to play the next James Bond?

And finally, James Bond will be English. The Sun revealed on Monday the name of the latest actor tipped to play James Bond. This is the British Aaron Taylor-Johnson, revealed to the general public in Nowhere Boy and Kick-Ass, in 2010. If he accepts the role, which remains to be confirmed, he will succeed Daniel Craig, who played the Britain's most famous spy for 15 years. Delayed due to strikes in Hollywood, filming is due to begin this year.

“Bond is Aaron’s job, if he wants to take it. The official offer is on the table and they are waiting for a response,” confides a person familiar with the matter to the Sun. Still according to the same source, Taylor-Johnson must formalize his commitment with Eon, the James Bond production company: “Aaron will sign his contract in the coming days and they will be able to start preparing the big announcement.” The 33-year-old actor was not the only one considered for the role. At his side, Cillian Murphy, Oscar winner this year for his performance in Oppenheimer. But also Idris Elba, known for having played the British inspector Luther in the series of the same name. Or Henry Cavill, better known to the public as Superman. Despite this fierce competition, Aaron Taylor-Johnson remained the big favorite. “I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in this role,” he told The Sun. I take it as a great compliment.”

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Aaron Taylor-Johnson is far from unknown. The actor, originally from High Wycombe, in the south-east of England, was revealed to the general public in 2009. That year, he played John Lennon in Nowhere Boy, a film by Sam Taylor-Wood which tells the childhood of the Beatles singer. His performance earned him the Empire Award for Most Promising Actor in 2010. The same year, in the film Kick-Ass, he found himself in the shoes of Dave Lizewski, a teenage comic book fan who decides to also become a super -hero. In 2014, the actor landed the role of a real-life superhero and played the mutant Quicksilver, whom Marvel fans discovered in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

But it was in 2017, when he played the psychopath Ray Marcus in the thriller Nocturnal Animals that Aaron Taylor-Johnson really stood out. The role earned him the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, opening the doors for the next James Bond film. “He is the ideal person to play Bond and will pick up the torch where Daniel left off,” concluded a close source to The Sun. In the last part of the saga, No Time To Die, released in 2022, the spy, then played by Daniel Craig, seems to have been killed. And his potential death sets the bar high for the hero of the next film.