Jude Bellingham has revealed his dream of becoming the next James Bond after treating England to more cinematic moments at the World Cup.
The 23-year-old scored in England’s 4-2 opening win against Croatia, then was awarded man-of-the-match honours in their following two group-stage contests to book Wednesday’s round-of-32 meeting with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
And while the Real Madrid midfielder might currently be more focused on replicating Bobby Moore’s 1966 success, the cinephile has now said he would not mind following in the dapper footsteps of another Moore – Roger – as well.
“I’d love to be in a movie,” Bellingham told James Corden on Fox’s World Cup After Hours show.
“People always ask me, ‘What’s the thing I’d want to do out of football?’ – and I never really give it that much thought, but when I have I always come to ‘I’d love to be in a film’.
“I’d love to be James Bond. I’ve watched all of them. I’ve watched the (Sean) Connery ones, Roger Moore, I’ve seen all of them.
“I love James Bond. I swear, I’d love to be in the back of a James Bond film. (Maybe) James Bond himself, but you’ve got to crawl before you can walk.
“They haven’t (found a new Bond) yet, have they?”
Corden tested the aspiring thespian’s acting chops, first getting him to say the title character’s “The name’s Bond, James Bond,” line, leading the footballer to joke afterwards, “I think I’ve got a shot!”.
The pair then tried out Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise’s famous “You can’t handle the truth!” exchange from "A Few Good Men."
English football’s suave JB already has the right initials, and has certainly caught the attention of the general public. Open any “hottest footballers at the World Cup” TikTok, and the Stourbridge success story inevitably appears.
He may even have a leg up on some of the rumoured front-runners to succeed Daniel Craig, including Oscar nominee Jacob Elordi and Chelsea supporter Callum Turner.
In an interview with the Independent, Debbie McWilliams, who cast the last three Bonds, said she wants to “see somebody who is completely out of the blue”.
The blinding spotlight on Bellingham, however, might dampen his double-agent dreams.
McWilliams added: “It is absolutely essential that he retains a total enigma. We want to know as little about them personally as possible, because that’s what spies are.”
