Graham Roy, who edits 007 magazine, has identified actor Stuart Martin as the ideal candidate for the next James Bond, declaring he possesses all the necessary qualities for the legendary spy role.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Roy emphasised that the character requires "a six-foot-tall, dark-haired, strapping, middle-aged guy" and insisted Mr Martin fulfils the criteria entirely.
Mr Roy's endorsement arrives amid widespread speculation about who will succeed Daniel Craig following his final appearance in 2021's No Time to Die.
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Graham Roy said he doesn't believe that Bond could be a woman
|GB NEWS
Dame Helen Mirren has firmly dismissed the possibility of a female actor taking on the 007 role, despite widespread speculation.
She stated in a Saga Magazine interview that "James Bond has to be a guy" and that casting a woman "just doesn't work". The 80-year-old Oscar winner, who describes herself as "a feminist", argued that having a female Bond would transform the character into "something else" entirely.
Mr Roy told GB News: "Well, there obviously should be a James Bond, but it should never be a woman. I think this was something that came up in the media and the press a few years ago, and it’s kind of been dragged up again.
"It was nonsense then, and it’s just as much nonsense now. Bond needs to be a six-foot-tall, dark-haired, strapping, middle-aged guy."
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Host Alex Armstrong asked: "But look, Graham, what I’m saying is this: I know Amazon has bought the rights to James Bond now, and judging by what they’ve done with some of their other shows, I’m not convinced they won’t go down this super-woke route.
"But do they really need to reinvent James Bond? There have already been so many iterations. They practically killed him off in the last film. Do we really need to reinvent the character, or should Bond just retire?
"Should we say, 'Do you know what? We’ve had James Bond for almost 100 years maybe it’s time to let the character rest for a while before he gets destroyed by modern reinventions?'"
He responded: "I do think there’s always going to be a market and an audience for James Bond, if the films are made properly. There’s a perfect blueprint if you look at the Bond films from the 1960s.
Daniel Craig as James Bond | GETTY
"If you follow that, you can’t go wrong, because most of those were based directly on Ian Fleming’s books. The best Bond films are the ones that stick closely to Fleming’s writing.
"After Diamonds Are Forever, you had Live and Let Die with Roger Moore in 1973, which was a completely different, more comedic take on Bond.
"I was never particularly keen on that. For me, it’s the 60s Bonds they should follow but they do need the right actor. I think the right actor is Stewart Martin."
He added: "What Bond really needs is somebody with the right body movement, that air of arrogance Connery had in those films. Stuart Martin ticks all those boxes completely."
Former Bond Pierce Brosnan has notably reversed his position on whether a woman should take on the iconic role.
After telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 that placing a woman in the role would be "exciting" and "exhilarating", he changed course this year, telling Saga magazine: "Oh, I think it has to be a man."
Producer Barbara Broccoli stated in 2018 that Bond "was written as a male" and would "probably stay as a male," advocating instead for creating more female characters with stories tailored specifically for them.