Dominic Cooper would love to play James Bond.
Dominic Cooper at Stratton premiere
The 39-year-old actor stars as Special Boat Service officer John Stratton in Simon West's new British action movie 'Stratton', which is based on a series of books by former SBS officer Duncan Falconer.
The movie sees Stratton tasked with stopping a terrorist cell from committing an atrocity in London and has been compared to the 007 films and life-long Bond fan Cooper hopes this film could help him land the role of the popular Ian Fleming character when Daniel Craig decides to hang up his tuxedo after shooting the 25th film in the franchise, due to be released in November 2019.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz at the UK premiere of 'Stratton' at VUE Cinemas in London's Leicester Square on Tuesday night (30.08.17), Cooper said: "You can't not want to be James Bond! Has anyone ever said, 'No?' No!"
Cooper landed the lead role after big screen Superman Henry Cavill exited the project over creative differences just five days before shooting was due to start.
The 'Mamma Mia!' star is sure Cavill, 34, would have done a great job but he was more than happy to get offered such an exciting opportunity.
He said: "It's just one of those things that happened. It's sad because he invested so much time and effort but they disagreed with what he wanted and what the creative team wanted and it was too late for them to change it. I got asked to see whether I would want to do it."
Cooper knew very little about The Special Boat Service - a special forces unit of the UK's Royal Navy which is responsible for stopping maritime counter terrorism - when took on his role and the more he learned about the military unit the more "gratitude" he felt for the brave men and women who protect Britain.
He said: "I think it was that I didn't know a great deal about the SBS. I think it was the nature of the man rather than being an all-out action hero, I felt he was quite an isolated man who had made a decision to do this job which the actual truth is it is a lonely existence and quite a complex one. One moment you're at home and next you're risking your life on a daily basis for the safety of your country. It makes you have much more gratitude for the people who do that work to protect us. I was very privileged to be playing a person who is looking out for the country."
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