The English actor over-indexes with male and action film audiences, and is known to film fans without being too famous for the role.

By John McDermott

If Amazon MGM Studios wants the next iteration of the James Bond franchise to succeed, it should cast Jack O’Connell in the role, according to a new analysis by media intelligence firm Samba.

O’Connell is one of four actors — along with Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and an unnamed fourth — rumored to be auditioning for 007. Of those candidates, O’Connell has the highest appeal among action movie audiences and he over-indexes among male audiences, Samba's report finds.

U.S. households that watched films starring O’Connell (“28 Years Later,” “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” “Unbroken”) in 2026 are 56 percent more likely to be action fans, higher than any of the actors that have at one point been rumored for the role.

O'Connell has made his name by playing tough guy action roles, which explains his action-fan appeal and fits with the grittier take on Bond the franchise took during Daniel Craig’s tenure.

Samba conducted the study by identifying each actor’s three most popular streaming titles from January 1 to October 20, and analyzing their household reach and audience demographics.

Almost Famous

Historically, the James Bond role has gone to relatively lesser-known actors because the studio wants audiences to associate the actor exclusively with the international man of mystery. There was a time when Sean Connery and Daniel Craig were still middling actors.

By that criteria, Jacob Elordi might be too famous to play Bond, Samba finds.

The Australian heartthrob has reached 21.9 million U.S. households this year across the HBO Max series “Euphoria” and his starring film roles in “Frankenstein” and “Saltburn.” That kind of broad reach might make him too familiar to U.S. audiences, though it should be noted that, famous as he is, Elordi is third billing on “Euphoria” behind co-stars Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya.

Aaron Pierre comes in second in terms of overall reach thanks to playing the Green Lantern in HBO Max’s hit series “Lanterns,” and he, too, scores well with action audiences (149 on a 100-point scale). Casting Pierre would be historic, as he’d be the first Black actor to ever play Bond. Alas, he appears to have fallen out of contention, according to the Hollywood trade rags.

Paul Mescal ("Gladiator II," "Hamnet," "Aftersun"), Josh O’Connor (“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” “Challengers,” “The Crown”), O’Connell and Jack Lowden (“Slow Horses,” “Dunkirk,” “Calibre”) are all in the semi-famous sweet spot, with U.S. household reaches around 6 percent.

Mescal is also popular among action fans, scoring 128 on the action index due to starring in the "Gladiator" sequel. But Mescal's upcoming role portraying Paul McCartney in a quad of movies about the Fab Four might overshadow him as Bond.

Appealing to Young, Male Audiences

Elordi and O’Connell are the only actors who over-index among young audiences, a key attribute as Amazon tries to cultivate the next generation of Bond fans. Lowden appeals to audiences 55 and older because of his role in Apple TV's Dad Show "Slow Horses."

O’Connell (unsurprisingly) has the edge on Elordi when it comes to appealing to male audiences, an important audience cohort considering the womanizing spy with a license to kill is nothing if not a male fantasy.

The casting decision should be made sometime in the next several weeks, and whomever is chosen is sure to become an international superstar. According to Samba data, O’Connell is the clear choice.