Enola Holmes star Louis Partridge has addressed the rumours that he’s one of the stars in the running for James Bond, revealing that one particular scene brought the super-spy to mind.
Partridge has played Tewkesbury, the love interest to Millie Bobby Brown’s sleuth, throughout the Enola Holmes trilogy, in addition to taking other roles in Apple TV’s Disclaimer and Steven Knight’s House of Guinness.
Indeed, the 23-year-old’s proximity to Knight is probably helping to fuel rumours, given that the prolific Peaky Blinders creator has been tapped to script the hotly anticipated reboot.
Amazon MGM Studios is also thought to be seeking a younger actor to inherit the role, both to differentiate from the outgoing Daniel Craig and to secure the franchise’s future for, potentially, decades to come.
Want to see this content?
Accept and continue
Asked by The Independent about his Bond buzz, Partridge revealed with a chuckle: “Well, I did have to hold a gun for the first time [in Enola Holmes 3].”
“And I wore a three-piece suit,” he continued. “I was feeling pretty good, myself. The thought [of Bond] did cross my mind, but let’s see.”
James Bond fans have been waiting years for a substantial update on the franchise’s film fortunes, with several actors rising and falling in the odds since Craig bowed out in 2021’s No Time to Die (it turned out, there was).
In the meantime, the hysteria around Bond rumours has become so great that Riz Ahmed satirised it for Prime Video comedy series Bait – where Partridge’s Enola Holmes co-star Himesh Patel played a frontrunner.
In real life, however, Patel has been less optimistic about his chances, telling Radio Times in 2024 that it would be “silly” to have asked his The Franchise director and Bond alum Sam Mendes for casting tips.
Amazon MGM Studios announced in May that the exhaustive Bond audition process was “underway,” but that it would not comment further until the “time is right”.
In addition to Partridge, widely touted contenders include Callum Turner (Masters of the Air), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (28 Years Later) and Harris Dickinson (Babygirl).
Enola Holmes 3 is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Add shows to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.