I expect you to cry: what the James Bond actors may face at the final audition

This weekend, the identity of the next James Bond is finally expected to be known – to the insiders, at least. According to reports, a number of youngish British actors – definitely three, possibly five – will have their final screen tests. To say it has been a long time coming is an understatement.

It is five years since Daniel Craig was killed in a hail of missiles at the end of No Time to Die, and in that time – even long before it – a swarm of actors have been tipped to replace him, only to age out of the role due to a combination of indecisiveness and cutthroat backstage corporate shenanigans. Whoever is declared to be 007 will be joining the franchise after what is likely to be the longest fallow period in the franchise’s 64-year history. As such, this is kind of a big weekend.

Let’s run through what we know so far. If three actors are to screen test for Bond this weekend, then they are Callum Turner, Josh O’Connor and Jack Lowden. If there are more – some outlets state that one other actor might be participating, others two – then they won’t include Jack O’Connell or Jacob Elordi, who are both out of the race for one reason or another.

The identity of the other actors are not yet known. Let’s take an uneducated guess and assume that one of them is a Beatle (the best fit is Harris Dickinson) and another one is more famous but less suitable (like Tom Cruise). Outlets are reporting that the screen test will encompass three main elements: stunts, camera presence and dialogue.

These are all equally important for a modern Bond. Remove stunts from the equation and your film will be boring. Remove camera presence and you’re likely to end up with a George Lazenby type, who has the potential to fluff what would otherwise be an all-timer.

Remove dialogue and you’re left with Quantum of Solace, and God knows we don’t need another one of those. You could argue that Jack Lowden is the frontrunner, if only because the first scene of the first episode of Slow Horses was a pretty good Bond audition in itself. It was, you’ll remember, a race against time sprint through an airport and train station, on foot and in a car, complete with hand-to-hand combat and gun play.