There’s been much discussion over who should be the next James Bond, with actors ranging from Idris Elba to Tom Hiddleston to Tom Hardy all rumoured to be serious contenders to play 007.
However, what if Daniel Craig isn’t quite done with the role yet and plans to return for another outing?
That’s the belief of Craig’s “Spectre” co-star Naomie Harris, who spoke to BBC News after being awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony held Thursday at Buckingham Palace.
“I really don’t think that they’ve moved on from Daniel,” she said of producers’ desire to lock in Craig for another James Bond sequel.
“I think there’s a very good chance that Daniel will come back,” she declared. “I think it’s way too early to be thinking about other people at this stage.”
Added Harris: “I think the fact that the last two Bonds — ‘Spectre’ and ‘Skyfall’ — have been the highest-grossing Bond movies of all time shows that people love him as Bond, and they desperately want him to return. And I don’t think Daniel is immune to that… I think he’s very aware, so I think that adds an extra level of pressure. But he has to ultimately do what feels right to him.”
However, she adds that Craig remains producers’ first choice to play the suave super-spy who’s been portrayed by such actors as Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
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“But I know that we, as a cast, collectively want him back. I know that Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [Wilson] — our producers — desperately want him back, so I think the only person that needs persuading is Daniel,” she said.
As for being honoured with an OBE, Harris stated: “As a black actress from the background I came from… I think it’s incredibly important. I’m absolutely thrilled to have my work recognized in this way.”
In a moving Instagram post, Harris expounded on her royal recognition: “As the daughter of an immigrant, it was with an added sense of pride that I received an OBE from the Queen today,” she wrote. “I spent the ceremony reflecting on how my deceased grandparents would have felt seeing their granddaughter receive this kind of recognition from a country they fought so hard to be accepted by. I am proud to be British, and proud to be of Jamaican/Trinidadian descent, and I am incredibly proud of all the sacrifices my grandparents made so that I could live my dreams.”
