Keeley Hawes described her character Julie in The Assassin as a “peri-menopausal James Bond” – and I think she’s bang on the money.

I’m convinced Keeley should be the next 007. And the first female Bond at that.

Based on her performance in the six-part Prime Video series, Keeley ticks all the boxes needed to take over the mantel from Daniel Craig and those that came before him.

In The Assassin, Julie is a seriously bad-ass woman in her 40s. Although she has retired from contract killings, she is forced to switch off her out of office when a large sum is put on her own head.

Julie unlocks her secret stash of guns hidden in her quaint Greek cottage and embarks on one hell of a journey with her estranged son Edward.

To say there is a lot of blood-shed would be an understatement. But this is only because anyone who dares stand in their way is dealt with cooly and calmly by Julie.

So exactly why does Keeley’s role in The Assassin prove she should be the next Bond? Read on to find out…

‘Hawes, Keeley Hawes’

Keeley’s portrayal as Julie is basically her audition for Bond. The music for the opening credits is the first indicator, thanks to its string instruments and plinky plonky melody.

Julie’s fondness for a drink or two is also immediately clear by the empty whiskey bottle strewn beside her sun-lounger. Now, we all know that Bond likes a sharpener. In fact, in Ian Fleming’s books, 007 drank a total of 347 alcoholic drinks.

But Julie’s comparison to the world’s most famous spy stretches far beyond this. Despite being retired, her physical fitness when faced with a gun-toting sniper is seriously impressive.

And viewers only have Keeley to thank for this. Ahead of The Assassin’s release on Prime Video, the actress revealed she did nearly all her of her own stunts.

Asked about it on This Morning, Keeely said: “I did do them and I really enjoyed it.

“In the second episode, there is a big fight scene. I did have a fantastic stunt woman come in but we weren’t a brilliant match physically. So I ended up doing more than I had anticipated.”

Keeley also told Radio 1 listeners that it was “fun” doing her own stunts.

All part of the job

Over the decades, the actors who have played James Bond have relied on stunt men. However, many of them have also done their own stunts.

Just this year, Pierce Brosnan – who portrayed Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye – revealed he was injured while playing Bond. He made the confession while on The Jonathan Ross Show.

Pierce said: “[The boat] goes off the river into a restaurant, drives into a restaurant, wood sliced my face open. So, went off to the hospital, stitched up.”

So casual.

Daniel Craig, meanwhile, definitely threw his heart and soul into the role. He has lost a finger tip, had teeth knocked out and ended up having shoulder surgery all while playing Bond, according to reports.

While shooting No Time to Die, Daniel was also said to have needed X-rays after hurting his ankle.

Considering Keeley described her own stunt experiences on The Assassin as “fun”, I’m pretty certain she’d be up to the job.

‘It was worryingly easy’

When he’s not sipping on cocktails and wooing the ladies, James Bond is a a highly skilled marksman and gun handler.

As a 00 Agent, he knows how to operate a range of firearms. This includes the Walther PPK pistol, which features in lots of the movies.

Well, it turns out Keeley Hawes is also a natural when it comes to guns. In fact, producers of The Assassin felt she was “too good” at taking a gun apart and putting it back together. Rumour has it, they had to re-shoot scenes because she was so hot.

Keeley told This Morning viewers: “I was supposed to have not done it for a while, so in the writing was a bit rusty. And um… it’s not actually that difficult.

“It was slightly worryingly easy to put a gun together. So during filming it was like, ‘Can you make it look a bit hard?'”

Give that girl a license to kill! Well, you know what I mean.

Natural charisma

Another characteristic Bond is brimming with is his charisma. He’s calm, has a dry sense of humour – in the movies, at least – and unflappable when faced with danger.

Keeley pulled off similar charm when playing Julie.  With ease, she quipped with sarcasm at every opportunity – even when facing death in the kitchen of a yacht.

The actress made snipping at her co-star Jack Davenport, who played Sean, look like child’s play during their gory fight scene. They grappled together, shot at each other and then Julie finally stabbed him in the neck with a gold and silver plated cheese fork.

Sophisticated, right? So 007.

Female Bond

Like me, plenty of viewers of The Assassin also think Keeley would be perfect as the next Bond.

Writing on X, one said: “Anyone else think #KeeleyHawes should be the next #JamesBond? wow – I’d definitely let her jump the queue in the supermarket. Terrific stuff.”

Agreeing, another replied: “I’ve just finished this series. Isn’t she incredible?!?”

And someone else added: “I’m enjoying #TheAssassin – Keeley Hawes is the James Bond we deserved but never got.”

Let’s not forget all the other roles Keeley has played, either. Who remembers anti-heroine Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton in Line Of Duty? And Home Secretary Julie Montague in The Bodyguard. She was pretty powerful and ambitious and proof Keeley has what it takes.

In 2020, James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli responded to calls for 007 to be a female. She told Variety magazine: “James Bond can be of any colour, but he is male.”

Barbara added: “I believe we should be creating new characters for women – strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.”

However, Barbara has since sold the James Bond franchise. And who has creative control now? Amazon-MGM. I told you Prime Video’s The Assassin was Keeley’s audition for the part!

Odds on Keeley

Betting agent William Hill currently has odds on Keeley becoming the next Bond at 100-1. The top spot is held by Aaron Taylor Johnson, with odds of 8/11. Callum Turner is at 7/2 and Tho James at 6/1.

Keeley’s former Bodyguard co-star Richard Madden is sitting at 33/1. In 2019, Keeley put her money on Richard to be given the role.

In The Bodyguard, which was written by Jed Mercurio, Richard played Met Police bodyguard David Budd. It was David’s job to jump in harm’s way for Home Secretary Julia.

Keeley told Harpers Bazaar: “I said to Richard while we were shooting, ‘This is like James Bond!’ I would love to see Richard playing James Bond. I would love that. I think he would be phenomenal.”

Quite frankly, I know they’re mates, but Keeley needs to stop backing that horse. There’s only one horse in this 007 race now – and it’s her!

There is only one question remaining. Does Keeley like it shaken, not stirred?

Read more: The Assassin on Prime Video: Cast list of new thriller led by Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore

The Assassin is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland now.