An Irish Bond: Eight homegrown heroes who could play the iconic secret agent 007 next

From Andrew Scott to Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan to Aidan Turner, Ireland has a wealth of talent who could take on the heroic lead

Andrew Scott. Photo: Getty

Chris Wasser

Do we have our next James Bond? It’s hard to tell. Some reports indicate Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the 33-year-old Englishman, best known for his roles in Nowhere Boy, Kick-Ass and Nocturnal Animals, has been offered a contract to replace Daniel Craig in a new series of Bond films. Others suggest the Taylor-Johnson story is a tad premature, and the actor remained tight-lipped about such matters in a recent interview with Rolling Stone UK.

What, exactly, is going on? We’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, it’s fun to speculate about who’s in the running and who’ll make the cut — and wouldn’t it be something if the next James Bond was Irish? It’s happened before and, given the level of talent pouring out of this country, it’ll probably happen again at some point. Take note: these are the awesome homegrown performers that could make for a smashing Bond…