Licence to thrill! England star Jude Bellingham eyes role as next James Bond as he looks to life after football

Jude Bellingham wants to swap his licence to thrill for a licence to kill as he expressed his desire to be the next James Bond.

If Thomas Tuchel and England are to end 60 years of hurt by winning the World Cup this summer then Bellingham will play a key role in that.

But in a surprising admission the 23-year-old opened up about his love of film and his dream role would be to play James Bond.

Daniel Craig announced that he would stop playing James Bond after the last film, No Time to Die, in 2021 and so far the next James Bond has not been announced (Image credit: Getty Images)

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The midfielder scored the opening goal against a stubborn Panama side in New York on Saturday, and his immediate focus is on progressing as far as possible with England.

But that has not stopped the Real Madrid star from dreaming about life after football.

Speaking on Fox's World Cup After Hours, Bellingham said acting appeals to him, and the role of Bond topped his wishlist.

Since Daniel Craig hung up his gun after No Time to Die in 2021 and there has been no replacement named.

Asked about his ambitions outside football, Bellingham told James Corden that acting is the career he finds most appealing.

"I’d love to be in a movie," Bellingham said. "People always ask me, ‘What’s the thing I’d want to do out of football?’ - and I never really give it that much thought, but when I have I always come to ‘I’d love to be in a film’.

"I’d love to be James Bond. I’ve watched all of them. I’ve watched the (Sean) Connery ones, Roger Moore, I’ve seen all of them. I love James Bond. I swear, I’d love to be in the back of a James Bond film. (Maybe) James Bond himself, but you’ve got to crawl before you can walk. They haven’t (found a new Bond) yet, have they?"

Bellingham also delivered the famous line, "The name’s Bond, James Bond," before joking: "I think I’ve got a shot!"

England face DR Congo in the round of 32 in Atlanta on Wednesday and if they win that a Round of 16 game in Mexico City, potentially against co-hosts Mexico.

And if Bellingham and England were to go on and win the World Cup on July 19 then the midfielder would not be short of offers for off the field opportunities - and who knows James Bond could be one of them.

James Andrew is the editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing both the magazine and website. James is an NCTJ qualified journalist and began his career as a news reporter in regional newspapers in 2006 before moving into sport a year later. In 2011 he started a six year stint on the sports desk at the Daily Mail and MailOnline. James was appointed editor of FourFourTwo in December 2019. Across his career James has interviewed the likes of Franco Baresi, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham and Michael Owen. James has been a Fulham season ticket holder since the mid-1990s and enjoys watching them home and away, through promotion and relegation.