James Bond: ANOTHER actor joins bookies’ race to replace Daniel Craig as next 007

Craig is believed to be stepping down from the role after the as-yet-untitled film, by which point he will have made five James Bond capers.

Richard Madden remains the bookies’ frontrunner to take over, closely followed by long-term tip Tom Hiddleston.

But another actor is seeing his odds shorten – and at only 29 years old, could be a prime candidate?

He’s just crept into the Top 10 with one bookmaker, hot on the heels of the likes of Henry Cavill and Aidan Turner. So is he in with a shot?

The actor in question is Jack Lowden, who is now on 16/1 with Marathon Bet.

The Essex-born actor will be familiar to those who have seen the 2016 BBC miniseries War and Peace, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, or 2018’s Mary Queen of Scots.

He also had a key role in the recent Paige biopic Fighting With My Family, in which he played the wrestler’s brother Zak.

Lowden is an accomplished stage actor, too; in fact he won an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2014, thanks to his work as Oswald in Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts.

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The star’s recent acclaimed turns in Fleabag and Black Mirror may have put him in the frame, but he’s adamant that he won’t be 007 – which makes sense, given that he’s already appeared in the franchise thanks to a role in Spectre.

“I don’t think I’ll get asked to play Bond,” he told The Guardian.

“They’ll not be like ‘Let’s get Scott in’,” he added – going on to suggest that an up-and-coming, younger name will likely get the gig.

“They won’t announce it until 2022, so it will probably go to some whippersnapper who will surprise us all,” he speculated.

For now, Bond 25 is out on April 8, 2020.