He’s currently the front-runner to play James Bond next, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is proving he certainly has the look.
The actor is hot favourite to take over from Daniel Craig as 007, after he bowed out in 2021’s No Time To Die following 15 years as the secret agent.
And while his casting is yet to be confirmed,bookies recently suspended betting on the matter, suggesting someone could have signed on the dotted line…
However, rumours of Craig’s replacement still fly, and Taylor-Johnson showed everyone he would fit into Bond’s shoes with ease as he rocked up to the Venice International Film Festival.
The 34-year-old British actor attended the Battleground premiere on Saturday, looking extra sharp.
Donning a structured black blazer and trousers with a matching bow tie and crisp white shirt, he posed for cameras effortlessly.
As photos emerged online, fans were all quick to say the same thing, with the likes of LagunaBiotchIG declaring him ‘the most handsome man’.
Championing Taylor-Johnson for the coveted role, ysheeblack wrote on X: ‘If this isn’t your white James Bond I don’t know who is’.
‘This is literally James Bond’, stated positionsmafiaa.
ColbySteffens echoed: ‘He’d be the perfect James Bond!’
Others described the British star as ‘so handsome’ and praised him for ‘confidently knowing how to pose’.
The High Wycombe-born movie icon joined the likes of Emily Ratajkowski, Eva Green, and Stella Maxwell at the Venice premiere.
According to The Guardian, Italian drama Battlefield, directed by Gianni Amelio, is set in 1918, with the plot following ‘when a pair of Italian doctors take very different approaches to treating the wounded that pass through their wards’.
Also in attendance was Luicen Laviscount, who was previously in the running for Bond.
Taylor-Johnson himself has been quizzed on Bond rumours before, and it isn’t always a question he’s welcomed.
During the premiere of The Fall Guy, AP asked the Nowhere Boy star on the red carpet if he gets ‘sick’ of being asked about Bond.
‘You sick of asking the question?’, the actor responded with annoyance.
‘I want to know, so no,’ the reporter replied, which led to Taylor-Johnson quickly shutting down any further conversation while laughing.
‘Alright, have a good one,’ he said before walking off.
Previously, Taylor-Johnson Taylor-Johnson’s wife and filmmaker Sam, 57, also addressed the rumours.
Giving a short answer to ITV’s Jonathan Ross, she encouraged: ‘Carry on speculating, he’d be great.’
Whatever the outcome, it’s clear Taylor-Johnson has the backing of the people – including former Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan.
‘I think the man has the chops and the talent and the charisma to play Bond, very much so,’ Brosnan told The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1.
While Bond big wigs are still tight-lipped over the franchise’s future, the rumours have provided the ultimate playground for bookies in recent months, as everyone from Idris Elba to Cillian Murphy has been tipped for the role.
A source previously claimed Bond producer Barbara Broccoli was keeping a close eye on Peaky Blinders star Murphy, and had been for a year as interest in him rocketed.
It was reported that she was interested in using him to ‘elevate the Bond franchise’ even further.
However, Marvel actor Taylor-Johnson is, undoubtedly, the favourite shoo-in, especially with Bond fans convinced he’s already been formally offered 007.