Pierce Brosnan didn’t care who the next James Bond is, now wants ‘magnificent’ Cillian Murphy to play him

More than a year after Pierce Brosnan proclaimed that he genuinely couldn’t care less who becomes the next Agent 007, the actor revealed there is one star who he wouldn’t mind seeing step into James Bond’s shoes.

"Cillian [Murphy] would do a magnificent job as James Bond on His Majesty's Secret Service," Brosnan told the BBC of his fellow Irishman at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday night. 

Murphy, 47, has been recently rumored to be in contention to become the newest iteration of everyone’s favorite spy following his success in Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-nominated film, Oppenheimer. However, when chatting with the BBC at the event, Murphy reportedly revealed that he hadn’t heard about any Bond casting speculation at all. 

The last person to play Bond onscreen was Daniel Craig, who starred in five films — 2006’s Casino Royale, 2008’s Quantum of Solace, 2012’s Skyfall, 2015’s Spectre, and 2021’s No Time to Die — before putting away his cufflinks.

Since then, rumors have swirled about several different actors potentially picking up the mantle, including Idris Elba, Sam Heughan, Tom Hardy, Regé-Jean Page, Richard Madden, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and, now, Murphy.

Brosnan, who starred as Bond in four films from 1995 until 2002, previously revealed in a 2022 interview with GQ that he wasn’t exactly up at night worried about who would play the character next. When asked to share his casting thoughts at the time, he bluntly admitted, “I don't care."

Still, he was kind of curious. “It'll be interesting to see who they get, who the man shall be,” Brosnan continued. "Whoever he be, I wish him well."

Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have said in the past that they’re looking for an actor who is willing to make a long-term commitment to the franchise. “It’s going to be a couple of years off,” Broccoli told Variety. “And when we cast Bond, it’s a 10- 12-year commitment.”

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