Tom Blyth says that it would be “lovely” to be cast as James Bond.
Tom Blyth has been tipped as a potential James Bond
The 31-year-old actor has been mentioned as a possible successor to Daniel Craig as 007 and admits that it would be an honour to take on the role of the iconic spy because he is a huge fan of the franchise, although he is not expecting it to happen.
Tom told the Metro newspaper’s 60 Seconds column: “Anyone from this part of the world can’t help but idolise the culture of acting that comes through the Bond franchise.
“I grew up on those films, so it would be lovely. I don’t see it happening but of course it would be lovely.”
Blyth portrays inmate Dee in the prison drama Wasteman and confessed that he got a sense of enjoyment out of playing such a “dark character”.
The Billy the Kid star explained: “It almost feels messed up to say it was fun – he’s such a dark character, dealing with so many demons.
“The fun part was giving myself permission – and getting permission – to go off the rails. He’s so not like me, I hope! It was fun getting to do what I saw Gary Oldman doing when I was younger, admiring his work in Léon where he played a larger-than-life but still real villain.”
Tom explained how he has been “enlightened” about aspects of prison life as a result of his work on the picture.
He said: “I’ve been enlightened about a lot of things, especially about rehabilitation.
“I was talking to a consultant on the film – he’s from a charity called Switchback. People who watch the film might be shocked by the violence but he said, ‘Actually, I’ve sadly seen a lot of that and it all feels real.’ So that was illuminating.”
When it was suggested that many of his projects have a political undercurrent, Tom explained that he sets out do “human work”.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actor said: “What I’m setting out to do is human work and to empathise with people who I’m not like.
“In doing that, it becomes political because being human is inherently a political thing. Politics means people in a space with each other. I’m saying that I do human stories and if that seems political then it’s just because putting people in a space together is that.”
Blyth also features in the rom-com People We Meet on Vacation opposite Emily Bader and revealed that he didn’t know much about Emily Henry’s novel when he was cast in the adaptation.
He said: “I didn’t feel a whole lot of pressure, probably because I wasn’t super-aware of the book before being cast.
“I read it when we were filming and mined it for information. The people who gravitate to books like this one tend to be very thoughtful and warm.
“I went into this experience also with optimism and positivity. I did the film because I wanted something that was fun and a bit lighter.”