Lucifer star Tom Ellis may be the perfect candidate to play the next 007 following Daniel Craig’s departure from the iconic James Bond films, according to his co-stars.
Cast members of the hit fantasy TV series have revealed they have nominated Ellis a potential contender in the ongoing hunt for Craig’s replacement.
Speaking to DailyMail.com at Regard Magazine’s Summer Issue release party in Los Angeles, co-stars Kevin Alejandro, 46, and Tricia Helfer, 48, said the ‘handsome’ and ‘muscly’ actor has the ‘full package’ to play the iconic spy.
‘Everything about Tom would make him a great Bond. Tom embodies everything James Bond should be,’ Alejandro, who played detective Dan Espinoza on the series and directed several episodes, said.
‘He is handsome, intelligent and f***ing ripped. And he is Tom f****ing Ellis.’
Helfer, who starred as Lucifer’s mother on the show, echoed Alejandro’s sentiments, telling DailyMail.com: ‘Tom is the full package.’
‘Not only is he incredibly charming, but a lovely human being and uber professional.
‘He took his role as number one on Lucifer very seriously, welcoming everybody, was in on the music and in on every aspect of it. And he would translate that to Bond.
‘He also got in shape during Lucifer. During seasons two and three he came back muscly, so he has got that working for him.’
Former model Helfer admitted that Ellis, who also played a lead role on the BBC comedy hit Miranda, wouldn’t mind stripping for 007’s obligatory bedroom scenes – and with a wry smile urged Bond producers to ‘take a really good look’ at the star.
The actor famously stripped down for an episode of the series, which follows a bored Satan who decides to run an LA nightclub called Lux after abandoning his throne in the underworld.
Lucifer showrunner Chris Rafferty has also voiced his support for the Welshman to be cast as the leading role in the Bond films.
‘Tom is tall, he’s British and looks good in a suit,’ Rafferty told DailyMail.com. ‘I don’t know if Tom has ever held a gun. I’d love to see Tom holding a gun. He never held one as Lucifer. I am all for it.’
Rafferty explained that Ellis already shares a quirky trait with Bond of toying with his shirt cufflinks while talking to people.
Ellis is married to screenwriter Meaghan Oppenheimer. His has two daughters with his first wife British soap star Tamzin Outhwaite and a son from a previous relationship.
His eight-year marriage to Outhwaite fell apart in 2014 after he admitted a one night stand with Australian actress Emilie de Ravin. As well-suited as he may seem, Ellis would definitely have big shoes to fill for the Bond role which has been played by Hollywood legends including Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan since the 1960s.
Current Bond Craig, 54, is the most successful box office 007 ever, but now he is bowing out franchise executive producers Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are searching and auditioning potential candidates. Despite his colleagues’ recommendations, Broccoli and Wilson are keeping their cards close to their chest on their hunt for the next 007.
Craig, who quit after 2021’s No Time To Die, earned them $4billion at the box office during a 15-year run.
Bookies are betting on stars such as Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill, Rege Jean Page, Tom Hiddleston, Sam Heughan and Idris Elba as the next potential 007 – leaving Ellis as the underdog.
But Broccoli is famous for ducking the ‘obvious choice’ or bookies’ favorites for the spy role.
Ellis, 43, who is originally from Cardiff, landed his first major acting job in 2006 when he joined the cast of UK soap EastEnders. His breakout role would come a few years later when he was cast as leading man Gary in Miranda. He then moved to US to pursue bigger roles and ultimately became a global star as fallen angel and ‘Lord of Hell’ in Lucifer, one of Netflix’s most watched series.
The show ran on Fox for three seasons until 2018, when it was canceled due to poor ratings.
News of the cancelation shocked fans who quickly launched a petition to keep the show running on a new network.
The series was picked up by Netflix for a fourth season in 2019, with its final season airing in September 2021.
Ellis picked up a Best Actor award at the National Film and Television Awards, USA and a Pop Icon honor at Hollywood Critics Association Television Awards last year. He would be the second Welsh 007 as former Bond actor Timothy Dalton was born in Colwyn Bay. Last year Ellis told DailyMail.com at the George Lopez Foundation 14th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic Tournament that Bond would be a dream role.
‘If it was offered to me I would snatch it,’ he said. ‘I am quite happy to not be on that list and just wait and see what happens.’
He said his career has allowed him to show off a wide range of acting skills, from comedy to gritty drama.
‘I feel lucky that I have been able to go across all these different genres,’ he said.
‘I started acting because I enjoyed the variety of things that it throws up.
‘And to be able to have that in my career is a bit of a blessing. I am very grateful actually.’
Ellis is still staggered by how fan love for him and the show helped save Lucifer from TV’s trash can in 2018.
‘Social media has changed everything. Fans have a voice, they don’t always get listened to,’ he said.
‘But if they speak in quantity like they did with us it proves people want to watch. We have gone from being some show that got canceled to being the most watched show on Netflix. It is crazy that has happened.’
Ellis added that extensions on series allow fans closure.
‘I think the biggest frustration for people is that they do not get to see their story completed,’ he said.
‘It is like having a book snatched off you before you finish it. So knowing that there is potential to say: “Hey hold on a minute we were watching that,” and if they speak up in volume and tenacity there is a chance they could see the end of their story. That is a great feeling.’
Source: dailymail.co.uk