Summary
- Daisy May Cooper responds to rumors of her being considered for the role of M in the next James Bond reboot, stating that the rumors quickly spread like wildfire.
- Cooper’s name was mentioned in a radio discussion about the next M, leading to media inquiries at her parents’ door, despite the rumors being baseless.
- Cooper remains open to the possibility of playing M and jokingly says, “Move over Dench!”
British comic and actor Daisy May Cooper has responded to rumors she is in the running to play M in the next James Bond reboot. The fictional codename assigned to the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service known as MI-6, over the past 25 Bond movies only four actors have ever played the role: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes. Rather than being depicted as different iterations of the same character, over the years each new M has been a different character appointed to the role and accompanying codename beginning with Brown’s M who took over from Lee in the Roger Moore era.
Speaking with NME, Cooper responded to rumors she was being considered for the role in the franchise reboot following Daniel Craig’s final outing in No Time To Die. Suggesting that the rumors had begun off the back of a radio discussion where someone had floated her name as a possibility, the Avenue 5 actor said they quickly spread like “f—king wildfires” and soon saw her parents confronted by inquiring media. However baseless the rumors may seem, Cooper remains open to the possibility saying, “Move over Dench!” Check out her comments below:
I think it was on the radio… they were discussing who they want to be the next M and then somebody mentioned my name and from then it just went like f–king wildfires. I had the Daily Mail knocking at my parents’ door at night. Yeah, give me a f–king part. Move over Dench!
Why Ralph Fiennes Should Stay On As M In The Next James Bond
In the entire span of the official James Bond franchise, only one movie has not had an appearance from M, that being 1981’s For Your Eyes Only. Sadly Lee, who had played the role from 1962’s Dr. No, passed away from cancer during production, and out of respect the decision was made not to recast him for that movie. Since then, while the role of Bond would pass through multiple hands, the coveted mantle of 007’s boss would only be bestowed on two more actors after Brown’s previous James Bond character, Admiral Hargreaves, was appointed to the role.
While the James Bond franchise has always had an exceedingly loose relationship with continuity, it has become somewhat of a tradition to maintain and honor the lineage of M’s role despite an ever-shifting roster of leads. Even though eyes are currently looking at who will be the next actor in line to play Bond himself, there is no real need to replace Fiennes, who only came to assume the role at the end of 2012’s Skyfall. Just like each of his predecessors, Fiennes’ M should have the opportunity to appear alongside more than one Bond.
Even Fiennes himself has expressed his hopes to remain in the role, previously saying “I’m very keen to continue training the new Bond.” With the Daniel Craig movies often accused of straying too far from many of the franchise’s longest running traditions, keeping Fiennes as M in the next iteration of the series would be a big step toward addressing such concerns. However, only time will tell if a new James Bond movie also means a new head of MI-6.
Source: NME