Ben Whishaw: A Gay Man Playing James Bond Would Be "Extraordinary"
More men have been to the Moon than have uttered the words "The name's Bond, James Bond" on film. But given that No Time to Die will be Daniel Craig's last outing as 007, we're sure that Bond's producers and the powers that be are already asking themselves who should be granted a license to kill next.
Will it be Idris Elba? Will it be Henry Cavill? Both of those would be great choices, but Ben Whishaw, who has played the role of Q ever since 2012's Skyfall, believes it would be a sign of progress for a gay man to play 007.
Speaking to Attitude about the prospect of a gay man playing James Bond, Whishaw said: "God, can you imagine? I mean, it would be quite an extraordinary thing. Of course I would like to see that.
"I really believe that we should be working towards a world where anyone can play anything and it would be really thrilling if it didn't matter about someone's sexuality to take on a role like this. I think that would be real progress. But we'll see, we'll see where we're at.
"I'm amazed by how much has changed just in the last five or six years, so we'll see."
When quizzed further about who exactly he'd like to see in the role, Whishaw revealed that he'd be keen for either Beauty and the Beast actor Luke Evans or Bridgerton's breakout star Jonathan Bailey to take on the part, saying that they're both "wonderful actors".
"They're both actors who it seems would be really capable of doing it and would be ideal casting. And it would be thrilling to see either of them do it," Whishaw said.
"I wonder if either of them would want to – because it's not just the demands of the role, but it's like the demands of being Bond in the world and what it symbolises and how it would change your life."
As well as asking Whishaw who else he'd like to see play Bond, Attitude also asked the 40-year-old actor if he'd ever been thought of for 007. However, some men are born to be Bond and others are more of a Q, but, as he pointed out, there's space for both of those types of men and masculine identities on the big screen.
"I think it was obvious to me that I am not Bond material, and I'm happily not so, like, I'm happy as Q.
"But I don't think I am [Bond material]. And I think that that's cool.
"I think it's important that there are a range of masculine or male identities; that we don't all have to be the Bond-type, you know?"
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