Robert Pattinson Auditioned for James Bond, Five Actors in Race
Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult are the two unnamed actors in the running to play James Bond, multiple sources told Hollywood trade publications. They join Jack Lowden, Josh O'Connor and Callum Turner in a casting process that has dragged on for months.
Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult are the final two names in the race to play James Bond, according to multiple sources who spoke to Hollywood trade publications over the weekend. Both have auditioned, and Pattinson, 40, has quickly become the most talked-about contender.
Earlier reports had named Jack Lowden, Josh O'Connor and Callum Turner as the official contenders, plus a mysterious fourth actor nobody could identify. The weekend confirmations filled in that fourth slot and added a fifth. Robert Pattinson auditioned James Bond's producers alongside four rivals, making it a five-way contest.
The Villeneuve connection
Pattinson is the only one of the five who has already worked with the next Bond director, Denis Villeneuve. They collaborated on Dune III.
Guardian film writer Sian Cain argued in a column that Pattinson's arrival makes a casting decision that has "dragged on, and on, and on" feel exciting for the first time. That is her view, not an industry consensus. She called him a rare contender who could "transform Bond into something entirely new, if given some slack."
A career built on odd choices
Cain pointed to Pattinson's recent range: a deranged dauphin in The King, a southern preacher in The Devil All the Time, a bumbling clone in Mickey 17, and a snarky opportunist in The Odyssey. His other credits include The Lighthouse, Primetime, Die My Love and The Drama.
She noted his habit of freshening up familiar characters. On playing Bruce Wayne, Pattinson once told GQ: "I mean, it's kind of such an insane thing to do: the only way I can live is to dress up as a bat."
He also has experience with big franchises, including Batman, Twilight, Dune and Harry Potter. Cain called him "not suave in the classic sense, but he is incredibly magnetic."
Doubts about him taking the part
Cain was candid that Pattinson landing the role is unlikely. His recent choices lean toward spiky, provocative auteur films, and he tends to accept franchise work only when he can play a oddball.
Barbara Broccoli, the Bond producer, features in the column's account of Daniel Craig's exit, which came after a fifth film was pulled out of him. Neither Pattinson nor Hoult has publicly commented on the reports.
