Richard Madden hints at being offered James Bond role
“I don't want to curse anything by saying anything.”
He caught our eyes (and our hearts) in his superb turn as the troubled David Budd in Jed Mercurio’s smash-hit drama, Bodyguard.
It now seems that Richard Madden may have also caught the attention of Barbara Broccoli and co, with the 32-year-old being hotly tipped as Daniel Craig’s replacement as James Bond. It’s a role the former Game of Thrones star hints he would relish as a fan of the series.
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“I'm more than flattered to be mentioned, for people to consider putting me in that role. I'm very flattered and thankful. It's a really brilliant thing to be in,” he said in a recent interview in GQ magazine.
“I don't want to curse anything by saying anything. I think that's the curse of that. If you talk about anything, you’ll curse it.”
Madden joins the ranks of Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston and Tom Hardy, who have also been linked to the coveted role. But the Scottish actor teased that the rumour mill might actually work against him.
“This is what happens with all these shows, like Tom Hiddleston in The Night Manager. Then there's the next one. I'm the next one.
“Everyone just loves the rumour mill on that topic. I'm just the current one. There'll be a different one next week.”
Current Bond star Craig, 50, infamously said he would rather “slash his wrists” than sign on to play the super-spy once more – words he ended up having to eat after he committed to play Bond for the upcoming project, Bond 25.
But Madden admitted that the strain of playing Budd in Bodyguard saw him consider quitting acting, for a short while.
“It had taken so much out of me physically, mentally and personally,” he said.
“I didn’t see any of my friends for months, unless they came to set. It was just relentless.
“You didn’t get a day off. My character doesn’t get a second off. It took more out of me than anything else I’ve done.”
However, it seems Madden is ready to do it all again, having hinted at working on a second series with Mercurio last month.
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