Saoirse Ronan’s comments about husband Jack Lowden playing James Bond are suspicious

Did Saoirse Ronan protest too much about Jack Lowden and the incessant James Bond rumours? (Picture: Gilbert Flores) Saoirse Ronan may have dropped the biggest hint yet that her husband Jack Lowden has been cast as James Bond. Accidentally, of course. Slow Horses actor Lowden, 36, is one of the top names in the running for the new 007, along with the likes of Callum Turner and Harris Dickinson. However, it’s all incredibly cloak and dagger, leaving the rumour mill to go wild over who will be taking over as the MI6 agent with a penchant for the ladies and fast cars. After Slow Horses star Gary Oldman dropped a major hint recently that his co-star Lowden could be James Bond, Ronan has added fuel to the fire with her latest comments. Lady Bird and Little Women star Ronan, 32, touched on the speculation about her husband when asked what it’s like living with the constant rumours. She told Associated Press that Oldman ‘thinks he’s James Bond, which is its own thing.’ It’s hard to believe Saoirse and Jack don’t discuss the James Bond rumours – or a possible audition – at all at home (Picture: Getty) She added: ‘We’re kind of getting on with our life, to be honest. We have plenty of other things to be dealing with. So, yeah, it’s not really a subject that’s coming up in our house, to be honest. ‘The dog needs to be walked, the dinner needs to be made — we’re most focused on that.’ This sounds lovely, obviously, but could also be considered quite suspicious. It seems unlikely to think that, not once over the course of a quiet evening at home, she hasn’t turned to her husband and casually wondered whether he might be about to become the next 007, or chatted about the possibility of it happening. What about the fact it’s quite likely he at least went for an audition. Nothing at all? We’re not saying the Lowden-Ronan household is definitely secretly living through the most important casting saga in British cinema, but the insistence that Bond simply never comes up feels almost like trying a little too hard to convince us that it doesn’t. The lady doth protest too much, perhaps? Oldman really stirred the pot recently when he appeared to let slip the man taking over from Daniel Craig as Bond. The Hollywood icon, who plays Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, told Canada’s Global that ‘it’s been rumoured he’s on the shortlist’. ‘We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.’ If Jack IS James Bond, we know he looks cracking in a tux… (Picture: David Fisher/Shutterstock) Gary Oldman has been dropping James Bond hints like crumbs (Picture: Neil Hanna) After this very unsubtle hint, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight – who is writing the next James Bond film – seemed to suggest that the new 007 had in fact already been cast, backing up Oldman’s claim. During a recent interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, discussing whether a casting decision had been made, Knight laughed and replied: ‘I cannot speak about this subject. Much as I would dearly love to.’ He joked that taking on Ian Fleming’s famous spy franchise for Amazon MGM Studios meant he was ‘doing my duty for King and country’. But presenter Anna Foster pressed him further, asking: ‘Presumably you know who it is when you’re writing it. Does that make a difference?’ Knight replied: ‘It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor.’ Foster tried again, asking whether Knight already knew who been cast before he started writing or halfway through the process. Callum Turner is another regular name on James Bond potential lists (Picture: Dominik Bindl/WireImage) Knight laughed again and said: ‘I refer you to my previous answer.’ It’s fair to say the odds are certainly stacking in Lowden’s favour to be James Bond, but there are plenty of other young actors in the running. The latest bookies’ odds put Lowden, also known for roles in Dunkirk, BBC miniseries War & Peace and Mary Queen of Scots, as the top bet so far. But Ladbrokes has other big names in the mix, including The Capture and Masters of the Air star Callum Turner, The Iron Claw’s Harris Dickinson, 28 Years Later and Skins icon Jack O’Connell, The Crown and Challengers’ Josh O’Connor and, newcomer to the Bond frenzy, This City Is Ours star James Nelson-Joyce. It is not yet known when Amazon will release the name of our new super-spy, but fans are desperately hoping for an update this side of Christmas. Arrow MORE: Free 007 First Light DLC adds Aston Martin missions and a New Game+ mode Arrow MORE: Miriam Margolyes joins new James Bond cast in ‘gender-swapped’ role Arrow MORE: Doctor Who fans are convinced former James Bond should be the next Time Lord Switched On Get plugged into the week’s must-watch shows, unmissable moments, and expert reviews with Metro TV Editor Sabrina Barr.