No Time to Die 's Ben Whishaw 'Would Like to See' an Openly Gay Actor Play James Bond Next

With Daniel Craig's 15-year run as James Bond coming to an end with No Time to Die, Bond franchise actor Ben Whishaw has some suggestions for who can play the iconic spy next.

Whishaw, 40, who starred as Q, head of the British Secret Service's Q Branch, in the films Skyfall and Spectre, will reprise his role in No Time to Die. The actor told Attitude his thoughts on a gay actor taking over the role.

"God, can you imagine? I mean, it would be quite an extraordinary thing," Whishaw — who is openly gay — said of casting a gay Bond. "Of course I would like to see that. I really believe that we should be working towards a world where anyone can play anything and it would be really thrilling if it didn't matter about someone's sexuality to take on a role like this."

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He added, "I think that would be real progress. But we'll see, we'll see where we're at. I'm amazed by how much has changed just in the last five or six years, so we'll see."

As for who he would pick to take on the role next, Whishaw replied, "There aren't many out gay British actors. It's quite hard to say, isn't it?"

When the Attitude interviewer suggested Luke Evans or Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey, Whishaw agreed, describing both men as "wonderful actors" who "would be really capable of doing it and would be ideal casting."

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Whishaw continued, "I wonder if either of them would want to – because it's not just the demands of the role, but it's like the demands of being Bond in the world and what it symbolizes and how it would change your life."

Craig, 53, is stepping away from the Bond role this year after playing the famous character in five films. In an emotional speech about his experience playing Bond featured in the Apple TV+ documentary Being James Bond, Craig said he "loved every single second of these movies," before adding that No Time to Die held a special significance for him.

"And especially this one because I've got up every morning, and I've had the chance to work with you guys," he said. "And that has been one of the greatest honors of my life."

No Time to Die premieres in theaters Oct. 8.