The James Bond tuxedo has apparently become the most coveted garment in Britain, judging by the number of actors trying to fill it. Daniel Craig may have shaken his final martini in No Time to Die, but the 007 succession drama has hardly gone quietly. As Denis Villeneuve prepares to reboot the franchise, Jack Lowden has become one of the latest names attached to the increasingly crowded race, with the next Bond expected to be British or Irish, relatively young, and willing to commit to several films.

If Lowden is truly inching toward the world’s most famous spy role, there is one rather important question left: who exactly is he, and can he make Bond believable?

Jack Lowden has the sort of résumé that makes the phrase “rising star” feel several awards and several major roles too late. Born in Chelmsford in 1990 but raised in the Scottish Borders, Lowden discovered acting at 10 and trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. By 2014, he had already collected a Laurence Olivier Award for Ghosts.

Television soon expanded his audience, with Lowden playing Nikolai Rostov in the BBC adaptation of War & Peace. Christopher Nolan followed with Dunkirk, casting Lowden as RAF pilot Collins in the filmmaker’s sweeping World War II drama. He later took on roles including wrestler Zak Zodiac in Fighting with My Family and war poet Siegfried Sassoon in Benediction.

But Slow Horses is where Lowden became especially recognizable to television audiences. Since 2022, he has played MI5 agent River Cartwright opposite Gary Oldman, earning an Emmy nomination for the performance in 2024. To make things even more interesting, his next major role takes him from British intelligence to classic romance, with Lowden set to portray Mr. Darcy in Netflix’s Pride and Prejudice alongside the other talented cast members.

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Saoirse Ronan may have said yes to Jack Lowden, but the bigger question is whether the next James Bond should do the same.

James Bond needs more than a well-tailored suit and the ability to look mildly offended while ordering a martini. Jack Lowden brings the physical credibility, dramatic control, and intelligence required to make the character convincing. His work in Slow Horses has already shown he can inhabit the world of British espionage without turning every dangerous moment into theatrical overkill.

Lowden also has the right combination of experience and room to grow, which could be particularly valuable for a franchise built around multiple films. His physical work in Dunkirk, Fighting with My Family, and Black Watch demonstrates that action would not be foreign territory. At 36, he could also embody a younger, long-term version of 007 without arriving with decades of franchise baggage, making him a surprisingly persuasive choice for the next James Bond.

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Do you think Jack Lowden is a good fit for James Bond? Let us know in the comments!