No dignity! 007 casting director explains why actors in their 20s are not good enough

Daniel Craig withdrew from the role of James Bond after the release of 2021's "No Time to Die", and the 007 series producers have been looking for his successor since last summer. Last August, foreign media reported that James Bond producers were looking for a younger 007 actor, around 30 years old and over 1.78 meters tall. The casting director recently explained why a 007 in his 20s was not feasible.

In an interview with RadioTimes, casting director Debbie McWilliams said the age restriction on the role of James Bond began in 2006 when actors in their 20s auditioned for Casino Royale, including Henry Cavill, who was just 22. She and director Martin Campbell said he and other actors of a similar age didn't get the role because they lacked gravitas and experience, in other words, they were too young.

"We did look at a lot of young actors, but I didn't think they had that gravitas, they didn't have that experience, they didn't have the mental capacity to take on this role because they had to not only play the role but also take on this huge responsibility. So we scrapped the idea and went back to square one and started over again."

The only actor to land the title role in Casino Royale was Craig, then 38, who has been playing James Bond for 15 years since then.

Prior to the release of No Time to Die, other actors aged 30 and over auditioned for the role of James Bond, including Idris Elba (50), Regé-Jean Page from Testament (34), Tom Hardy (45), Sam Heughan (42) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson from Bullet Train (32). Elba and Hardy were ruled out of playing the MI6 agent.