George Clooney Reveals His Pick for the Next James Bond: 'The Perfect Guy to Do It'

Amazon MGM can rest easy on its hunt for a new 007 because George Clooney’s been on the case and he’s cracked it. According to Clooney, there’s a “perfect” James Bond out there already, and it’s Callum Turner.

via: EW

It's been five years since Daniel Craig's swan song as 007, and last month Amazon revealed that the search is officially underway for the next actor to headline the franchise. But Clooney thinks the conversation should be a short one.

“I hope Callum ends up being the next Bond," Clooney told The Hollywood Reporter of Callum Turner. "I think he would be a great Bond. He’s tall and handsome and charming and British, so he’s the perfect guy to do it.”

Clooney was in the Turner business even before Dua Lipa was. The Oscar winner directed Turner in 2023's The Boys in the Boat, a sports drama about the University of Washington rowing team's quest to compete in the 1936 Olympics.

Now, Clooney isn't necessarily going out on a limb with his selection of Turner, considering many online markets have him as the betting favorite to land the role. And still, Turner insists that he's had no conversations about Bond and refuses to comment on if he'd be interested.

“I’ll tell you what’s so funny about the Bond thing: Even your best friends ask you, people text you that you haven’t spoken to for 10 years — and you know nothing!” Turner told THR. “It’s such a weird thing of something happening and nothing happening at all. I genuinely know nothing. I just find it quite amusing.”

The next Bond film will be a completely new era for the series. Amazon MGM Studios has taken over creative control, and they've brought in writer Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), producers Amy Pascal (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and David Heyman (Barbie), and director Denis Villeneuve (Dune).

"Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery," Villeneuve said in a statement when his hiring was announced. "I'm a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he's sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come. This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor."

In the meantime, Turner's first leading man test will be this summer's rom-com One Night Only, opening in theaters on Aug. 7.