The title and full cast of the 24th Bond film has finally been announced, but who’s playing who in the intriguingly-named Spectre? Here’s our guide to the film’s impressive array of acting talent, plus a sneak peek at the new Bond car
1
French actress Léa Seydoux, 29, is best known for her role in the much-talked-about romantic drama Blue Is the Warmest Colour, which won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. She’ll play a “Bond girl” named Madeleine Swann.
2
Ben Whishaw – currently the voice of Paddington in the hit film – will return for his second appearance as Bond’s gadgets guru Q, a role he revived for Skyfall after the popular character had sat out the previous two 007 films.
3
Naomie Harris also made her Bond debut in Skyfall, when it was revealed right at the end that her enigmatic MI6 agent was in fact the iconic Miss Moneypenny. This highly-regarded British actress earned rave reviews earlier this year for her performance as Winnie Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
4
Judi Dench made her seventh and final appearance as M in Skyfall, and Ralph Fiennes’ Gareth Mallory was seen succeeding her as the head of MI6. The two-time Oscar nominee, 51, is the seventh actor to portray M on screen following Bernard Lee, John Huston, David Niven, Robert Brown, Edward Fox and Dench.
5
Italian actress Monica Bellucci, 50, is perhaps best known to English audiences for playing Persephone in The Matrix franchise. She’ll play a character called Lucia Sciarra, and some outlets are already branding her, rather ungallantly, “the oldest ever Bond girl”.