Taron Egerton Says He's Not The "Right Choice" For The Next James Bond, And His Reason Is Interesting

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This post contains discussion of body image issues.

Taron Egerton: suave guy. You've seen him play a spy of sorts in the Kingsman films; he definitely knows his way around espionage.

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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I mean, look at this picture. It kind of just screams "James Bond," doesn't it?

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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Indeed, Taron has a rather...Bond-esque way of being, and if you're on social media, you've probably seen a few people say, "Hey, why can't this guy be the next James Bond?"

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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Not so fast, says Taron. The actor recently gave an interview to the Telegraph (via People), and he threw a 007-sized bucket of cold water on the rumors that he'd even be interested in stepping into Daniel Craig's shoes.

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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"I don't think I'm the right choice," Taron explained — and he went on to suggest that his reasoning has to do with his own body image.

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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"You have to be consistently statuesque to be that guy," he said. "And that's something that I am still striving for. I've always struggled with my weight."

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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Now, let's keep it real — the idea that you have to look a certain way to play James Bond is, on its face, ridiculous. I'm not really sure anyone has ever watched a James Bond film and asked themselves, "Yes, but how much does he weigh?" It's just not a thing, at all.

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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To be fair, he also had other, less absurd reasons for not wanting to take on the role. Taron also explained that being Bond "is a bit like being a brand ambassador as well as being an actor."

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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"And that could be really fun in microcosm, but I'm sure I read that [producer] Barbara Broccoli said that it's a 15-year commitment," he said.

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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But, like, let's not get ahead of ourselves — because Taron himself says he's not even in the running for the role, at this point at least. "It's sort of irrelevant how I feel about it, anyway, because I can tell you there have been zero phone calls," he said.

Closeup of Taron Egerton
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We'll see how this all turns out!