The actor, who is currently starring in Apple TV+<\/a> comedy-drama High Desert, was in contention to play the MI6 agent before Daniel Craig\u2019s casting, but ultimately stepped away from the conversations due to his young age.<\/p>\n At just 22 years old, he felt he wouldn\u2019t be able to bring appropriate gravitas to the job, but the past two decades have given him \u201cthe scars and the bruises\u201d to consider taking it on.<\/p>\n He told Variety<\/a>: \u201cBack then, not only could the part have sort of eclipsed me, I felt like the part was bigger than me as an actor or even as a person. That it would sort of swallow me up and I might sink the franchise, or at least be the worst Bond that ever lived. And that was just not an option, because I love the franchise.\u201d<\/p> \u201cBut very, very recently, last week [in mid-April], it started to come back into my consciousness that, let\u2019s put it this way, maybe I\u2019ve got the scars and the bruises now,\u201d continued Friend.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom having literally been around the block or in the school of hard knocks, but also having navigated film sets and directors and difficult situations. You sort of realise you\u2019re at a point where you can take things on that perhaps you couldn\u2019t before.\u201d<\/p>\n His comments come as longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson are on the hunt for a star to take over from Craig, who finally vacated the role after 2021\u2019s No Time to Die<\/a>.<\/p>\n Names currently rumoured for the gig include Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train<\/a>), Paapa Essiedu (The Lazarus Project<\/a>), Richard Madden (Citadel<\/a>), James Norton (Happy Valley<\/a>) and Henry Golding (Snake Eyes<\/a>).<\/p>\n Friend acknowledged that his moment to snatch up the role might have passed, but added he feels contentedness in being confident enough to step up if called upon.<\/p>\n \u201cLast week, I literally decided that I was ready,\u201d he added. \u201cNow they may or may not be interested, and that\u2019s totally fine\u2026 It doesn\u2019t matter if you do it or not, but it\u2019s important to listen to the cycles of life and understand the universe is always on time, just sometimes you and I are a bit early or a bit late.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to High Desert, the actor recently played the villainous Grand Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi<\/a>, politician James Whitehouse in Anatomy of a Scandal<\/a> and Peter Quinn in spy thriller Homeland.<\/p> ![\""Rupert\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/Rupert-Friend-Anatomy-of-a-Scandal-3f1b537-e1650895867930.gif?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Rupert\\"\/")
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