Tom Hiddleston: James Bond role would be 'extraordinary opportunity'

Fans and bookmakers wondering who will succeed Daniel Craig in donning James Bond’s tux have now another name to consider.

Should Craig depart the role following his turn in Spectre, much speculation has centered on Idris Elba. But Tom Hiddleston now says he’d be up for playing the British superspy should the role come calling.

“I’m a huge fan of the series. We all went to see Spectre when we were shooting Skull Island in Hawaii. I simply love the theme tune, the tropes and the mythology. I love the whole thing,” he said of 007 during an interview with the Sunday Times. “If it ever came knocking, it would be an extraordinary opportunity.”

He added, “And I’m very aware of the physicality of the job. I would not take it lightly.”

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Craig triggered speculation he wouldn’t return to the 007 role after his turn in Spectre when he said in a 2015 interview that he’d rather “slash [his] wrists” than do another Bond movie. He later clarified those comments and said he may end up returning for another installment.

“If you’re 200 yards from the end of a marathon, and someone comes running up to you and says, ‘Are you going to run another marathon?’ there’s two words you use, and not on a morning show,” he said on the Today show in November. “So that’s really what that was about. And I’ve had massive amounts of fun making this film. Probably more fun on this film than I have on all the others put together.”

Hiddleston will appear next as Hank Williams in the biopic I Saw the Light, opening in theaters March 25. He’s also starring in the six-part miniseries The Night Manager, based on the novel by spy master John le Carré, which premieres April 19 on AMC.