The next James Bond film will have a new casting director following the casting retirement of Debbie McWilliams, who has cast each of the last 13 James Bond films.
“I have now hung up my casting hat and have moved on to other film-related projects,” said McWilliams in an email to Screen. McWilliams made her decision to retire from casting prior to Amazon MGM Studios acquiring creative control of the James Bond franchise from longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, announced last week.
McWilliams has cast each of the last 13 James Bond films for Eon Productions, from 1981’s For Your Eyes Only (alongside Maude Spector), through to 2021’s No Time To Die.
She has cast three actors in the role of James Bond across that time - Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
UK casting director McWilliams has also cast many hit independent and studio titles, including Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life (1983); My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), with a breakthrough role for Daniel Day-Lewis; Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio (1986); Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V (1989); and more recent Eon titles including Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool (2017) and The Rhythm Section (2020).
Earlier this month McWilliams received an honorary contribution to casting award from the UK’s Casting Directors Guild, which McWilliams co-founded. The award was presented by Broccoli, and Gemma Arterton, who McWilliams cast in 2008’s Quantum Of Solace.
McWilliams’s retirement will leave the franchise looking for a new casting director to fill the James Bond role, and other roles, as the spy series heads into a new era.
Screen has contacted Eon Productions and Amazon MGM Studios for comment.
End of an era
“I am sad to see the end of this era but totally understand why it has happened,” said McWilliams to Screen. “Prior to Amazon acquiring MGM, Barbara and Michael had a good working relationship with the studio and always held the final decisions.
“Producing a Bond film takes at least 2 years of their lives with little time for anything else. And with Michael retiring I think Barbara did not have the appetite to shoulder the burden alone. She has so many other interests, especially with her theatre projects.”
“Looking at Amazon’s previous theatrical films does not fill me with any great enthusiasm,” said McWilliams.
“If they mess with the Essence of Bond they risk alienating a huge audience. Choosing the actor to fill the role is a huge task and not one I would hand over to subscribers of X.”
After last week’s Bond news, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos posted on social media site X asking ‘Who’d you pick as the next Bond?’.
“I have worked closely with Barbara and Michael for over 40 years and had the most amazing career, travelling all over the world in search of wonderful actors, and to be on hand on the various locations,” continued McWilliams.
“I have now hung up my casting hat and have moved on to other film-related projects. But I wish everyone the best of luck and hope the transition can be relatively painless. But it won’t be the same.”
A joint venture has been formed between Amazon MGM Studios, Wilson and Broccoli to house the James Bond intellectual property rights. Amazon has taken over creative control of the series, with unconfirmed reports quoting the deal at $1bn.
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