Iron Man 3 Star Guy Pearce Says He Had "A Little Chat" About Playing James Bond

The Memento star did not pursue playing James Bond.

By Jenna Anderson

It has been nearly three years since Daniel Craig bid farewell to James Bond, with the 2021 film No Time to Die sending out his version of the character in a pretty explosive fashion. In the years that have followed, there has been plenty of speculation about who will next play the iconic super spy, but no confirmed casting announcements or even shortlists. As a new interview reveals, Memento and Iron Man 3 star Guy Pearce was one in contention to play a new incarnation of James Bond. In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Pearce shared that he did have a brief conversation with James Bond's producers about potentially stepping into the titular role, but nothing ever came out of it.

"I wasn't aware of that moment, no," Pearce revealed. "There was a little chat, nothing official, knowing that the role was kind of opening up, and would that be something that I would [be interested in.] And funnily enough, that all sort of came I guess during that time that I was kind of being open to more things. But I suppose, and you know it wasn't anything serious enough that I either pursued, or had to sort of resist pursuing. It was sort of just a whim, a kind of idea to even think about. There was no real substance to having to think about it much."

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Who Will Be the Next James Bond?

At the moment, an actor for the upcoming reboot of James Bond has yet to be cast, although names like Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jack O'Connell have been heavily rumored. Franchise producer Barbara Broccoli has previously highlighted the challenges of finding a worthy successor to Craig's Bond, while providing a new gateway for new and old fans alike.

"I go back to GoldenEye when everyone was saying 'the cold war is over, the wall is over, Bond is dead, no need for Bond, the whole world's at peace and now there's no villains' – and boy was that wrong!" Broccoli explained in an interview last year. "Daniel gave us the ability to mine the emotional life of the character … and also the world was ready for it. I think these movies reflect the time they are in, and there's a big, big road ahead reinventing it for the next chapter and we haven't even begun with that."

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