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Henry Golding thinks playing James Bond would be a "nightmare"

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 2:22 PM ET

The James Bond wheels are in motion and we're all just riding that train. Hey, the news is interesting, and the speculation is fun. James Bond is one of the biggest movie franchises in history, and after years of sitting fallow we're going to get a new Bond and a new movie.

Denis Villenueve is the director. We don't have a Bond actor, but we do have rumors. Oh, do we ever have rumors. The three (purported) front runners are Tom Holland, Jacob Elordi, and Harris Dickinson. One actor not apparently in the mix is Henry Golding. To be fair, the British-Malaysian actor is too old for the role, as he's already 38. Amazon is clearly looking to go under 35 with its choice. However, Golding is a good-looking British guy who has been in action movies, so he got asked about possibly playing Bond while promoting "The Old Guard 2."

Turns out, the dude finds the possibility to be straight-up nightmarish.

"I think that's every actor's kind of nightmare," Golding declared. He spoke of an "overhanging cultural pressure" that comes with taking on the role of Bond. Although, he also equivocated a bit, and in no uncertain terms at that. "Maybe I'm just a p-----. I don't know," he declared.

That being said, it's truly just about the idea of playing James Bond that freaks Golding out. "Why can't they bring out more agents or more OO's? I think that would be so much more fun, because there just isn't the restraints and the expectation," he mused.

The Amazon folks probably had their collective hearts soar when Golding mentioned other agents and members of the 00 program in the world of Bond. There has been much speculation that one of the sticking points before Amazon bought Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson out of creative control was that Amazon wanted to expand the world of Bond. Spinoffs, TV shows, and the like. Amazon would probably love to have Golding play somebody in the world of Bond that could then do his own thing elsewhere.

If in the near future we hear that Golding has been cast as some new coworker of James Bond, you can probably trace it back to this interview and the fact that, we will reiterate these are Golding's words, he's too much of a p----- to want to play Bond.

(h/t People)

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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