The search for the next James Bond is officially underway. Amazon MGM Studios announced it has kicked off auditions, but the production company is keeping details tightly under wraps until “the time is right” to share the news with fans. Oscar-nominated casting director Nina Gold is leading the charge alongside director Denis Villeneuve and producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman. According to Gold, the actor stepping into the iconic tuxedo must, above all else, “ooze sex appeal.”
Gold is uniquely qualified for the task. Her legendary portfolio spans blockbusters and critically acclaimed dramas alike. Last year, she made history as part of the first-ever wave of casting directors nominated for an Academy Award, earning a nod for her work on Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet.” She is also no stranger to massive franchises, having previously shaped the ensembles for both HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy.
While we eagerly wait to see who’s chosen to lead the James Bond franchise next, we dove into our archive to uncover Gold’s best audition advice. From where the CD looks for talent to what makes a self-tape stand out to what actors should remember in the audition room, here are her golden rules for getting cast.
Where she looks for performers
“I go to the theater a lot, and I see people in mainstream theater as well as weird, small-scale, fringe theater. I also go to drama schools and shows by drama groups a lot as well. I’m looking in all sorts of different places for people, trying to see people actually doing some acting.”
How to stand out in a self-tape
“I personally like it when [actors] just keep it simple. Some people really go to town and practically make the whole film! And then it’s pretty impressive, but it’s not necessarily revealing everything you need to know about the performance. It’s fun and you remember it, I guess. But just a fairly simple, plain [tape] just dealing with the text and the performance, rather than any other stuff, is pretty good.”
The truth about rejection
“If they don’t get the part, it’s not because they did something terrible or wrong, or they were bad. It’s normally not that. It’s just such a delicate, hard-to-define thing that makes one person more right than the other nine people trying the thing. That thing is really hard to determine. There are certain factors about the way that the part and the actor are right for each other that [have] nothing to do with your audition. It doesn’t mean that the fact that you didn’t get the part is because you’re not talented or great. It’s because there was something else that was more of a perfect fit with someone else. Each situation really is unique.”
How to own the room
“I think that you have to remember that when you go in the room, it’s your time, and it’s your opportunity to do what you need to do. You know that the people at the other side of the room should be there to facilitate you to do the best work that you can in those conditions. Make sure that you get the opportunity to say what you want to say about it, to ask the questions that you want to ask about it. Give the performance in the room that you want to. Then you’ve got to have the confidence to say, ‘I want to go again and try it this way, because this is what I want to do with this scene, and this is what I want to achieve with it.’ Just make sure that you own that time.”
How to get a callback (even if you lose the part)
“There’s no one answer to fit all situations, but I think it’s really good when people listen. When actors actively remember to listen in the audition room, that is definitely a good thing.”
Where to find casting calls + resources for the next James Bond film
Industry insiders report Amazon MGM Studios is seeking a British actor under 30 who can commit to a defining, decade-long franchise run. Tom Francis, the star of 2023’s “Sunset Boulevard” West End revival, is rumored to have auditioned for the role, among others.
To ensure you never miss an open call for the next 007 production, keep our dedicated James Bond casting guide bookmarked for real-time updates. You can also check out these active casting calls looking for talent now: