Meryl Streep and Kenneth Branagh appear at AARP Magazine's 11th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on February 6, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter)
If it were all up to "Fast 8" star Helen Mirren, the next actor to play James Bond should be Kenneth Branagh, who is set to star in "Dunkirk" with One Direction member Harry Styles. Recently, Mirren explained why Branagh fits the role of the fictional British Secret Service agent created by Ian Fleming.
"Kenneth Branagh would be a fabulous Bond," Mirren told Variety. "He never would do it because he's too busy doing other stuff."
For Mirren, Branagh has the urbaneness, the intelligence and the wit that makes him an excellent choice to play James Bond. The Academy Award winner also described the "Dunkirk" star as a "quite hunky" man.
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk" is a historical action drama film set to be released on July 21, 2017. Among Styles and Branagh's co-stars are Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, James D'Arcy, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, Bobby Lockwood, Miranda Nolan, Barry Keoghan, Adam Long, Michael Fox, Fionn Whitehead and Will Attenborough.
On the other hand, Mirren is set to star in the action film sequel "Fast 8," which is set to hit theaters on April 14, 2017. Directed by F. Gary Gray, the film also stars Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Scott Eastwood, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Kristofer Hivju, Ludacris, Don Omar, Zachary Vazquez, Felix Chu, Reiko Elio and Rex Alba, among others.
Branagh has yet to comment on Mirren's idea about him playing James Bond. The most recent actor who played the character in a full feature film is Daniel Craig, who recently talked about playing the role at the New Yorker festival.
"I've got the best job in the world doing Bond," The Guardian quoted Craig as saying. "The things I get to do on a Bond movie and the type of work it is, there's no other job like it."
For the fourth time, Craig played James Bond in 2015 in "Spectre," which was directed by Sam Mendes. Watch a video of a recent interview with him here:
