While some folks are still actually believing the rumors that Jeff Bezos is lobbying hard for his wife, Lauren Sanchez, to be the next Bond girl, here’s some actual credible 007 news.
A few weeks back, Vegas oddsmakers weighed in on the search for the new James Bond, touting Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the front-runner. This week, some legitimate reporting is suggesting that the search for the next 007 might be eyeing a lesser known name.
According to a THR source close to the project, 37-year-old Scott Rose-Marsh—a lesser known redheaded actor whose biggest credits are “Krays: Code of Silence” and “Wolves of War”—was brought in sometime in late June to read lines from “GoldenEye,” presumably for newly minted director Denis Villeneuve.
Rose-Marsh may have also tackled pages from the script that “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight is said to be shaping for Bond 26. Whatever the material, the source says Rose-Marsh was given one piece of direction before the cameras rolled: don’t impersonate a previous Bond.
If Rose-Marsh did indeed test, it blows up one of the more persistent theories that Amazon, which reportedly paid $1 billion for the franchise this year, is angling for a 20-something Bond to lure younger audiences. Rose-March doesn’t fit that age bracket, and quite honestly, this is the first time I’ve even heard of him.
Neither Rose-Marsh’s publicist nor Amazon responded to requests for comment. However, it should be mentioned that there’s never been a ginger Bond, and that clearly doesn’t seem to be a dealbreaker for Amazon. Remember when fan backlash occurred after Daniel Craig’s blond hair triggered outrage?
For now, Rose-Marsh remains the only leaked actor to have auditioned for Bond 26. Whether he survives the long audition process, or becomes just another footnote, is anyone’s guess, but this is further proof that the race for 007 is shaping up to be an unpredictable one.