If this rumor comes to fruition, it would not be the first time O’Connor took on an iconic UK role. In 2021, he took home the outstanding lead actor Emmy for his role as then-Prince, now-King Charles III, in Netflix series The Crown. While in his role as the future king, he was encouraged to tap into a side that one might not expect.

“It’s Prince Charles as Walter White,” he told The Guardian in 2020, making a reference to crime series Breaking Bad. “Our job was to make people feel sorry for [Charles], so that in season four, when he turns into this at times monstrous character, we understand how he got there.” A heel turn that isn’t unBond, especially the darker Bond we grew used to with Daniel Craig. (Craig, in fact, has a direct connection to O’Connor, as the pair co-starred in Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man.)

Speaking with the BBC, O’Connor did not confirm the casting rumor—but he didn’t deny it either. (Vanity Fair has reached out to O’Connor’s representatives for comment, but has not yet received a response.)

“To be considered in that same sort of bracket is extraordinary,” O’Connor said this week.

“It’s an incredibly bizarre pinch me moment…even being uttered in that same sentence and being considered for something like that. But I am afraid, there is nothing to say beyond that.”

Originally published by Vanity Fair Italy