Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan approves of Cillian Murphy playing the character next.

The GoldenEye actor was asked about his fellow Irishman becoming the famed superspy at the Oscar Wilde Awards on Thursday night and he gave his seal of approval.

“Cillian would do a magnificent job as James Bond on His Majesty’s Secret Service,” he told the BBC at the ceremony, which celebrates Irish talent in Hollywood.

Brosnan was honoured at the awards show alongside Irish visual effects supervisor Richie Baneham and Irish-American actress Molly Shannon.

Rumours about the next Bond have been ongoing since Daniel Craig stepped down from the role after 2021’s No Time to Die. Many potential names have been reported over the years, and the Oppenheimer star is the latest actor rumoured to be in the running.

The Oscar nominee told the outlet at the Los Angeles awards show that he had not heard the Bond rumours himself and had not given much thought about winning the Best Actor Oscar on Sunday.

“I just want to go in and have a good time,” he said.

However, in an interview on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast in February, Murphy insisted he was “too old” for the role.

“Oh man, I think I’m too old for that now. And I have said on record in the past that I think it should be a woman. I’m 47 and over the hill. That ship has sailed,” he stated.

Brosnan starred in four Bond films – GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day – between 1995 and 2002.

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