James Bond Casting Director Speaks on Whether 007 Should Be White and or Black
- Veteran James Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams argued that 007 should remain a white male
- Although no longer involved in the franchise, she also shared the key qualities she believes every actor playing Bond must possess
- As auditions for Daniel Craig's successor continue, her comments come amid growing speculation over who will become the next 007
Debbie McWilliams, the veteran casting director behind 14 James Bond films, has said the iconic spy should remain a white male character.
Speaking at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, McWilliams was asked whether 007 could be played by a woman or a non-white actor. She replied firmly:
Source: Instagram
"Not in my opinion. No. Ian Fleming wrote a character, and that's the character that stays."
McWilliams, who began casting during Roger Moore’s era and continued through Daniel Craig’s tenure, stepped away from her role before Amazon MGM Studios took creative control of the franchise in 2025.
The responsibility for finding Craig’s successor now lies with casting director Nina Gold and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, alongside producers Amy Pascal, David Heyman, and Amazon MGM executives.
Although no longer officially involved, McWilliams shared her thoughts on what makes a convincing Bond:
"Part of his job description is licence to kill. So you've got to think that he could pick a gun up and shoot you. So he's got to have a kind of threat about him."
She reflected on past Bonds, noting Pierce Brosnan’s "good looks and suave demeanour" and Daniel Craig’s "much tougher" take on the role.
Auditions for the next Bond began in May, ending a five-year hiatus since Craig’s final outing. Speculation continues, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Harris Dickinson, and Jacob Elordi among bookmakers’ favourites, though reports suggest lesser-known actors are also in the running.
McWilliams hinted at big changes ahead: "It's about to change dramatically, is all I can say."
Source: Getty Images
Mortal Kombat star Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa dies at 75
Legit.ng earlier reported that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played the wicked sorcerer Shang Tsung in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film, died at the age of 75.
He was born in Tokyo to a Japanese actress and a U.S. Army soldier of Japanese descent. As a boy, he travelled to the United States and was trained in martial arts from an early age.
His big debut in cinema came with Bernardo Bertolucci's epic 1987 film The Last Emperor, in which he played a Chinese capon named Chang. Thus began a brilliant Hollywood career that featured the James Bond film License to Kill, the drama Memoirs of a Geisha, the World War II action film Pearl Harbour, and Amazon's alternate history series The Man in the High Castle.
Source: Legit.ng
