Bond favourite James Norton reveals what he’d bring to film’s legacy after ‘amazing’ Daniel Craig steps down

James Norton opened up about the legacy of James Bond (Picture: Getty)

James Bond favourite James Norton has revealed his thoughts about the continuation of Daniel Craig’s legacy.

The actor, who’s starring in Uberto Pasolini’s new heart-wrenching film Nowhere Special, is one of the top contenders for the role with the bookies, among stars like Rege-Jean Page and Tom Hardy.

‘I think Daniel Craig’s done an amazing job re-defining it for a modern era and it’s this human role in a really wonderful way,’ the actor told Metro.co.uk. ‘I think that’s great. I think it’d be short-sighted to not pay attention to [how the role] has changed and the shift we’ve experienced in society as well.

‘Bringing on people like Phoebe Waller-Bridge as an adviser on the last film was very, very savvy and I’m really excited to see what she brings to it.’

As for what he’d bring to the role, James pointed out: ‘I’m a type one diabetic. How cool would it be to have a diabetic Bond?

‘It would be wonderful for all those diabetic kids out there to think even a type one diabetic could be Bond! Other than that, I’d leave it to Daniel and the writers to carry on the legacy.’

He’s got high praise for Daniel Craig in the role (Picture: Shutterstock)

In the mean time however, James is busy breaking hearts in his new drama, which sees him star alongside five-year-old Daniel Lamont.

James plays widower John, who has dedicated his life to bringing up his son Michael (Daniel). When he’s given only a few months to live, he has to find Michael a new, perfect home.

The actor admitted it was also an ’emotional rollercoaster’ for him, adding that there were some scenes where he ‘struggled not to cry’.

‘There was such an authentic truth to some of those scenes because I had this little boy in real time looking up at me, learning about death, reading the book Where Dinosaurs Go To Die,’ he recalled.

James stars alongside young Daniel Lamont in Nowhere Special (Picture Lucky Red)

‘I guess that’s what you hope for as an actor – having truth in that moment, reacting to something authentic, and every time I was working opposite Daniel, what he gave me was real. They say don’t work with animals and children because you don’t know what you’re going to get but when it works, it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.’

James also leaned on his past experience as a children’s party organiser to get to know Daniel properly.

‘If you don’t have kids, it’s quite a challenge to sort of talk to the parents and then go down a level and talk to the kid and and to turn into a kid in front of adults is quite embarrassing!’ he recalled.

‘And I had to do that with Daniel, I’d be like, “I’m gonna go talk to your son now” and then I become a four-year-old. And in order to him to really trust me and get on with me and want to come to work with me, he had to see me as a mate.’

For director Uberto, authenticity from James and Daniel’s relationship was essential, with the filmmaker admitting he had ‘tears in his eyes’ filming one particular scene.

‘There are some moments in the film where things happen independently of what the director was hoping to achieve, or had directed the actors to do,’ he explained.

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‘It’s just little magic dust that flows over the set and creates this purity, this truthfulness, this quiet reality. It captures magic without any sense of it being manufactured.’

He added: ‘The connection that James Norton had built with young Daniel Lamont became so truthful and so real that they were father and son, and their behaviour and the way they looked at each other and the way they interacted was truthfully one of love.’

Nowhere Special is released in cinemas on July 16.

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