Aaron Taylor-Johnson is set to be the next James Bond, according to reports.
Famous for roles in films such as Kick-Ass and Avengers: Age Of Ultron, the 33-year-old actor is apparently yet to officially accept the iconic part, but a source told The Sun: “Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it.”
The source added: “The formal offer is on the table and they are waiting to hear back.”
Eon Productions, which produces the Bond films, is also said to be preparing to shoot a new 007 movie, with a script now being worked on.
The Sun’s source added: “As far as Eon is concerned, Aaron is going to sign his contract in the coming days and they can start preparing for the big announcement.”
Taylor-Johnson is “an incredibly talented actor,” the source is also quoted as saying. They called him the “perfect person to play Bond and will pick up well from where Daniel Craig left off”.
Taylor-Johnson was asked by Numero magazine last week about rumours linking him with the role. In response, he said: “I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment.”
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After Daniel Craig hung up his tuxedo following the release of No Time To Die, speculation has mounted about who will become the seventh actor to play the spy in the official films.
Image: Craig starred with Eva Green in his first Bond film, Casino Royale, in 2006. Pic: Reuters
Taylor-Johnson would follow Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Craig in taking on the part, if his selection is confirmed. Connery starred in Dr No, the first official film, in 1962.
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Idris Elba was long tipped to take up the role, but the 51-year-old said in September that “disgusting” comments about his race put him off.
He told the SmartLess podcast: “Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting because it became about race.
“It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it.”
Image: Idris Elba, known for playing Luther, has been heavily linked to the role
It is “pretty surreal”, Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon admits, finding herself at the top of The New York Times bestsellers list.
When I meet the actress alongside her co-writer, best-selling author Harlan Coben, overnight the pair have learned that their thriller is now at number one.
He jokes: “I was texting her last night and saying you’ll now have to call yourself number one bestselling novelist, forget about Oscar winner!”
Image: Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben told Katie Spencer about their novel Gone Before Goodbye
As one of the most successful authors in the world, Coben has sold over 80 million books to date, while for Witherspoon this is new ground.
Not content with running a hugely successful production company responsible for a string of hits, as well as one of the most successful book clubs in the world, she explains she felt compelled to give writing a try.
“People want you to stay in your lane… as a creative person I think it’s impossible to just choose one kind of life.
“Creativity is infinite and who I was as a creative person when I was 20 is very different from the person I am now at 49.”
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Gone Before Goodbye, a thriller about a talented surgeon who finds herself caught up in a deadly conspiracy, is the result of Witherspoon daring to put her head above the parapet.
Image: Witherspoon says she felt compelled to give writing a try
Coben admits he was “a little wary” at first.
“I don’t co-write novels but when she made the pitch and started talking about it, I was like ‘dang that’s good, we can do something with that’.”
While countless celebrities work with ghostwriters, Coben says: “I said to her from day one ‘it’s only going to be you and me in here… no third person in here, I don’t do that’. So every word you [read] comes from Reese and me.”
Image: Coben has sold over 80 million books to date, while for Witherspoon this is new ground
Witherspoon explains: “He was like ‘if we’re going to do this, it’s going to have to be at a really high level because people going to expect a lot, so our bar was really high.”
“I said to her, in the beginning, novels are like a sausage,” Coben laughs. “You might like the final taste, but you don’t want to see how it was made and Reese got to see the full sausage getting made here.”
When it came to writing, Coben says they “fell into a rhythm right away”, working together in three-hour stints, “back and forth with a yellow legal pad – what about this? What about that?”
Image: Coben says they ‘fell into a rhythm right away’
Witherspoon says it “feels really deeply personal” to have their work now in print.
“Usually, as an actor, I walk into other people’s worlds and it’s already set up… but this was creating the whole world with Harlan and just from beginning to end feels very personal.”
While the story seems an obvious fit for being adapted to the screen, perhaps with a certain blonde actress in the leading role, Coben says that was never their intention.
“The biggest, biggest mistake novelists make when you write a book is to say ‘this would make a really great movie’. A book is a book, a movie is a movie, and we both focused on wanting this to be just a great reading experience.”
Given that their collaboration is already selling in big numbers, will the pair team up again to write a second?
Witherspoon says: “Let’s just see what people think of this one first.”
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Associate professor of neurology Dr Laura Stein told Sky’s US partner NBC News: ” The most well-described risk factors include a predisposition [family history of aneurysm], high blood pressure, cigarette smoking and inflammation.”
She went on to explain that most fatal ruptured aneurysms are in the brain, killing about one in three patients.
“When it’s a blood vessel that’s in the head and it bleeds, there’s a much higher risk of having a very bad problem just because the brain is enclosed in a fixed space,” Dr Stein added.
Low-risk aneurysms are monitored by doctors for growth or abnormalities, and there are a series of potential treatment options for those considered dangerous.
Elsewhere in The Kardashians clip, Kim admitted that her ex-husband Kanye West will be in her life “no matter what” because of the four kids they share together.