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Tom Hardy has revived rumours that he could follow Daniel Craig to be the next James Bond – and that Christopher Nolan, director of 'Interstellar' and 'The Dark Knight', could take over from Sam Mendes behind the camera.
While promoting his new TV show 'Taboo', Tom Hardy was asked by The Daily Beast if he'd like a stab at the role. Hardy was coy about it – but he certainly didn't rule himself out. Quite the opposite.
'You know, there's a saying amongst us in the fraternity of acting, and in the fellowship of my peer group, that if you talk about it you're automatically out of the race,' said the 39-year-old actor. 'So I can't possibly comment on that one! If I mention it, it's gone.'
In the hyper-sensitive world of James Bond speculation, even that sort of answer is enough to fuel talk that Hardy might consider himself in line for the job. Even more interesting, though, is what Hardy had to say about the idea that Christopher Nolan could take over from Mendes as the director of the franchise.
'But Chris Nolan, what a fantastic director for a Bond movie,' Hardy reacted. 'Because Daniel [Craig] is so good, and what Mendes and Barbara [Broccoli, the films' producer] have done has been so impressive, it would be very hard…to follow.'
Hardy and Nolan already have a third movie collaboration in the offing, having previously worked together on 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight Rises'. This summer, Hardy will appear in Nolan's epic war movie 'Dunkirk'.
It's not clear yet whether Daniel Craig will make a fifth Bond film to follow the success of 2015's 'Spectre' – he's currently playing Iago on stage in 'Othello' in New York and has committed to shooting a US TV series next – but Hardy is one of several actors, including Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston, whose name has been linked to the role while it remains uncertain whether Craig will continue as 007.
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