A Welsh actor is among the favourites to become the next James Bond.

Daniel Craig has confirmed he is leaving the iconic role following the newly released No Time to Die, and as ever, the rumour mill is buzzing with who could be the next 007.

Among the favourites are Tom Hardy (Black Hawk Down, Inception, Peaky Blinders) and Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton).

But joining those names at the top of the list is Wales’ Luke Evans.

South Wales Argus: Lashana Lynch, Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux attending the World Premiere of No Time To Die, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Credit: PALashana Lynch, Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux attending the World Premiere of No Time To Die, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Credit: PA

Evans was born in Pontypool and raised in Aberbargoed.

At the age of 16 the aspiring actor left home to move to Cardiff and pursue his dream of acting and singing.

From 2000 to 200 , Evans appeared in many shows on Broadway, before landing his first film role in 2010’s Clash of the Titans.

In the same year he appeared in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, as well as Robin Hood.

In the following years Evans picked up roles in The Hobbit trilogy and the Fast & Furious franchise, playing Owen Shaw in three films.

Most recently Evans has starred on the small screen.

He plays Lars in Nine Perfect Strangers on Amazon and returned to his Welsh roots in ITV’s The Pembrokeshire Murders.

South Wales Argus: ITV handout of Luke Evans in The Pembrokeshire Murders. Credit: ITVITV handout of Luke Evans in The Pembrokeshire Murders. Credit: ITV

Written by Nick Stevens, the fascinating three-part series - which is packed with "unbelievable twists" - is from World Productions (the makers of Line Of Duty and Bodyguard) and depicts the pursuit of a cold-blooded serial killer.

It's adapted from a true crime book called Catching The Bullseye Killer - an in-depth account of an extraordinary cold case investigation called Operation Ottawa - which was co-written by ex-DCI Steve Wilkins and ITV journalist, Jonathan Hill.

Evans took on the role of Steve Wilkins, who, as a newly-promoted detective superintendent in 2006, decided to reopen the investigation into two unsolved double murders from the 1980s which had cast a shadow over the work of the Dyfed Powys police force.

"I'm a sucker for a true story and this isn't just a true story, it's a shocking true story about the worst serial killer Wales has ever seen," Evans notes, when discussing the appeal of the role.

"And also, it just drew my attention to the work the police force does behind the scenes, and the human impact of what people go through when something like this happens in their community.

“It was shot in an incredible part of Wales which I've always wanted to visit and I got to live there and shoot this incredible show with an incredible bunch of Welsh actors. I got to use my own Welsh accent for the first time in many, many years and yeah, it was a great experience all round."

Evans is third favourite to be named as the next James Bond, with Betfair pricing him at 11/4.

Next James Bond odds

  • Tom Hardy - 13/8
  • Rege-Jean Page - 2/1
  • Luke Evans - 11/4
  • James Norton - 10/3
  • Sam Heughan - 9/2
  • Tom Hiddleston - 9/2
  • Michael Fassbender - 5/1
  • Jack Lowden - 6/1
  • Richard Madden - 6/1
  • Lashana Lynch - 6/1
  • Idris Elba - 7/1