Tom Hardy Leads Betting for Next James Bond

British actor Tom Hardy has been installed as favourite to take over from Daniel Craig as the next James Bond, and become the eighth actor to star in the world-famous franchise.

It is now clear that Craig will abandon the role after making four appearances in James Bond movies, with the actor recently confessing to Time Out Magazine that he had no intention of doing a fifth Bond film.

The 47-year-old actor has reportedly agreed to a role in US TV series called Purity, with the news set to receive official confirmation in the coming days.

Tom Hardy to Become Eighth James Bond

And with Spectre almost certain to be Craig’s final James Bond movie, the search is now on for his replacement, with Tom Hardy tipped as the early favourite (5/2) with William Hill.

The British actor has recently finished filming The Revenant, widely believed to be one of the most demanding movie projects of all time, having been filed in freezing cold temperatures.

Hardy was also nominated for the Worst British Film BARFTA, the awards given to the year’s worst movies, but it would appear as though a poor performance in the Legend gangster movie will not be damaging his chances of replacing Daniel Craig as the next James Bond.

Damian Lewis (3/1), Jack O’Connel (4/1) and Idris Elba (9/2) are also among the contenders, but Tom Hardy appears to have the best chance, with Betfair having him at 6/5.

Hardy has been personally thanked by Leonardo Di Caprio for his role in Revenant and he has received an Oscar nomination for the Best Supporting Actor.

About Tom Hardy

Born in Hammersmith, London, Hardy attended the Richmond Drama School and Drama Centre London and he got his first big break in Ridley Scott’s 2001 thriller Black Hawk Down.

He has since starred in a number of Hollywood movies and won the London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer in 2003.

Some of his more famous movies include Star Trek: Nemesis, RocknRolla, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Drop, The Revenant, The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road and Legend.