Damian Lewis, best known stateside for playing the double agent Nicholas Brody in Showtime’s hit series Homeland, is quickly moving to the top of the list to replace Daniel Craig as 007 when his contract comes to an end. At least according to William Hill, that is. The bookmaking website recently increased Lewis’s odds of nabbing the role from 25/1 to 3/1.

While the cause for the sudden jump is unknown, someone must’ve heard something to make him suddenly become a favorite. 3/1 puts him ahead of Henry Cavill, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hardy, but just a hair behind Idris Elba, who sits at 5/2. Lewis, himself, has played around with the chatter about him inheriting the role of James Bond. He once joked a while back that the character’s Scottish heritage, revealed to filmgoers in Skyfall, “paved the way perfectly for a red-headed Bond.”

A spokesperson for William Hill- one of the UK’s largest betting sites- says, “This is an unprecedented gamble, as for no apparent reason we have seen bets of up to £200 [$312] on Damian Lewis being named as the next Bond. This could well be significant and might herald the end of Daniel Craig as the world’s most famous spy.”

Interesting. Of the names on that shortlist- Lewis, Elba, Hardy, Fassbender, and Cavill- who would you most want to see inherit the tuxedo?

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter