Aidan Turner has come a long way from his role as nice boy receptionist Ruairí in RTÉ's The Clinic - and he'll have to deal with a lot more hot flushes and pulled muscles if as expected he's cast as the new James Bond! Having pouted to prime time perfection in the period drama Poldark, the Dubliner would be a great choice for the world's famous movie spy - here's why.
He's the right age
Roger Moore was 58 when he hung up his Walter PPK after 1985's A View to a Kill and ever since Bond has been going all Dorian Gray on us: Moore's successors Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were both in their forties when cast, while Daniel Craig was 38 when he made his debut in 2006's Casino Royale. Turner turns 33 on June 19, putting him in the Sean Connery (32) and George Lazenby (29) age group for his first outing. In his final film as Bond, 2015's SPECTRE, Craig - then 47 - looked a bit tired, so shaving nearly a decade-and-a-half off the spy feels like a very smart move - and bodes well for Turner undertaking many missions on Her Majesty's Secret Service.
He's known, but not too well known
After his triple BBC whammy of Being Human, And Then There Were None and Poldark, Turner has built up a right whack of small screen clout, but he's still waaaay off global recognition territory - perfect for starting out as Bond. His role as Kili in Peter Jackson's Hobbit blockbusters wasn't big enough to be remembered by the masses - and that's one of the big differences between Turner and earlier favourite Tom Hiddleston. After seeing the latter in The Night Manager, people said the BBC thriller was Hiddleston's 007 audition but, really, the Thor and Avengers movies mean the English actor is just too well known to get the top job. As SPECTRE and Skyfall director Sam Mendes memorably said about the Hiddleston rumours: "I can guarantee whatever happens with it, it will not be what you expect." Enter Turner!
He can do sensitive and sexy
Anecdotal evidence suggests that plumbers received more call-outs for flooded living rooms during heart-wrenching (no pun intended) and pulses-racing episodes of Poldark on Sundays than at any other time of the week.
The series' love triangle involving Turner's titular hero and co-stars Eleanor Tomlinson and Heida Reed brought out the best in him and given the aloof aura that Daniel Craig brought to Bond, it's important that someone puts a bit more 'salt on the ice' next time ‘round. If the scenes below are anything to go by, Turner is the man.
Hello!!! He looks great without a shirt
Ah yes, that scything scene in Poldark. Turner provided one of 2015's most iconic telly and water cooler moments when he stripped off in the fields down Cornwall way. Generations marvelled at those abs - and how far Sunday evening telly had come. While we'd guessed from a bit out that Turner probably had gym membership, little did we realise just how much use he was getting out of it. "There's no little pill you can take to grow a six-pack," he told the Radio Times. Given the action (vertical and horizontal) required of Bond, Turner would be spending even more time in the 'Iron Paradise'.
He can do badass
As crucial as the charm and the cardio. Turner owned the Christmas telly last year with his role as Lombard in the BBC's Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None, describing the mean-eyed mercenary and 'killer of 21 men' as someone with a "complete disregard for humanity". Now, he'd have to dial that down a bit as Bond, but from black humour to rogue raunchiness to six-shooter sass Turner ticked every box in the whodunit. And how. A couple of months down the line it really feels like this performance could seal the Bond deal by showing just how good he is at being bad. If you missed it, then this fan video has the best bits.
The Celtic Connection
In Bond's 54-years-and-counting movie history we've had a Scot (Sean Connery), a Welshman (Timothy Dalton) and an Irishman (Pierce Brosnan) receiving the licence to kill, so after Anglo-Saxon Daniel Craig's four-movie tenure, it feels like the time is perfect for the casting to go all Celtic again with Turner. For some, Craig was a bit too cold and steely as 007, so it would be interesting to see if Turner can channel some Hiberno heart into the character. Even with a brand like Bond, you've still got to put your own spin on him.
Things need to be shaken up and stirred
If Daniel Craig had bowed out as Bond after 2012's Skyfall it would have been a masterclass in perfect timing and going out at the top of your game. Instead, follow-up SPECTRE didn't take as much at the box office ($880m vs $1.1bn) and, to put it bluntly, just wasn't espionage par excellence. Craig, it's reported, is so over the spotlight shenanigans that he wants to leave; if he stayed there would be the danger of the franchise feeling after-the-fact again, just as it did with Pierce Brosnan's 2002 swansong Die Another Day. With a new leading (Irish)man there's the chance to tap into all that reboot energy - but this time 'round, the powers that be need to spend even more time thinking about the female lead, and how they'll handle the villain.
