Wicked star Jonathan Bailey has responded to rumours that he could be the next James Bond as speculation continues after numerous delays to filming decisions.
Bailey, 37, built a strong following last year when he starred in part one of Wicked as Prince Fiyero, receiving adoration for his portrayal of the leading man.
With the Bond rumour mill constantly evolving after the franchise has failed to confirm a new 007 since 2019, it’s not surprising the actor’s name has cropped up.
Discussing the rumours, Bailey admitted “it would be hard to say no,” and didn’t confirm or deny speculation.
During an interview on The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on Radio 2 on Tuesday, Mills probed: “It’s an obvious question, but I’m going to be honest with you, it’s the one people are asking the most, so I’m going to ask it. Do you, or would you be, James Bond?”
Refusing to give a direct answer, Bailey replied: “Scott, how dare you!”
“It’s not me, it’s the listeners – and there are thousands,” Mills pointed out.
“I mean, that’s an amazingly flattering ask,” Bailey commented before turning the attention to the DJ, stating: “I could imagine you as James Bond, Scott.”
“Well swerved, because that’s not true,” Mills quipped, pressing on: “But, I mean, we know you could do it, but you’d want to do it?”
“I don’t… I am not sure… I don’t know,” Bailey responded in a non-committal fashion.
“I really, honestly, I mean… It would be hard to say no, but I know that it’s going to be exciting whatever they do.”
“Thank you for answering that, because it was the most popular question,” Mills acknowledged.
He went on: “And I’ll be honest, I almost ran away from you a bit like you did with Steven Spielberg, before I asked, but I’m glad I did. Thank you very much.”
Bailey had been on the show to talk about the release of Jurassic World Rebirth.
The pair were joined by Radio 2 travel presenter Ellie Brennan, who was dressed up as a dinosaur for the occasion and surprised Bailey.
As well as Jurassic World and Wicked, Bailey is also known for featuring in Bridgerton since the first series, which was released in 2020.
Several well-known British faces have made big or small appearances on the Netflix series, with actress Genevieve Chenneour, who starred in the third series, making headlines last week.
The 27-year-old shared the dark side of living in the city as she revealed she was “taking a break” from the capital after a terrifying theft ordeal.
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The actress was attacked at a Joe & the Juice coffee shop in Kensington on February 8, and last week opened up about the experience.
Chenneour explained her decision to leave the capital after seven years following the incident, explaining on Thursday: “I’ve actually taken a bit of a break from London…
“I’ve been here for seven years, working, auditioning, acting, just to kind of have a bit of a reset because it really did affect my confidence,” she said.