The Name’s Bond, Paddy Bond

Patrick Gibson with 007 First Light co-star Noemie Nakai

here are so many actors, writers, musicians and arty-farty chancers in this town, every now and then we miss one entirely.

The latest being Patrick Gibson, the 31-year-old actor who grew up with ma and pa and brother William in sunny Greystones before heading to Stillorgan, then Donnybrook, and then, naturally enough, Hollywood.

Starting out in the likes of The Tudors (2009) and The OA (2016-2019), Gibson stepped into the big time as the privateer with a big secret in Shadow And Bone (2023) and as the young, fresh-faced forensics serial killer in Dexter: Original Sin (2024-2025).

But it’s his role in today’s 007 First Light that might just push Gibson into the very big time, Bond being one of those roles that pretty much every actor over 5 foot dreams of playing one day.

And given that Gibson’s early Twitter handle was Patrick Gibson Double 0, the Greystones lad was clearly one of them.

Pic: Frank Ockenfels

“That’s funny,” he told Radio Times this week when it was pointed out. “I never actually thought about that. There you go. The universe works in mysterious ways…”

With speculation currently rife over who will take over from Daniel Craig in the big-screen Bond outings, Gibson isn’t the first Irish lad to serve with his majesty’s secret service, of course, Pierce Brosnan having gone before.

In 007: First Light, Gibson plays the young Bond, newly recruited to MI6, and yet to become the lady killer of later years. And yet to earn that number.

As he told Men’s Journal, “It’s important from the start that it felt like a human story. Meeting him at this young age, there’s scope for vulnerability and a kind of rough-around-the-edges nature.”

Roger Moore must be spinning.

“What was important was to forget the canon or pop-culture nature of it,” finishes Gibson. “When you have iconic material and lines, there could almost be a temptation to pander to that. We were aiming to honour the DNA of this character…”

With a theme tune from the Ozempic Queen, Lana Del Rey, and the deep pockets of powerhouse Amazon MGM, PlayStation and IO Interactive behind it, the world and his sister will undoubtedly know about 007: First Light.

And it could all just prove to be a very fine, very expensive audition tape for that big screen role…

You can follow the further adventures of the Gibson lad on Instagram here and TikTok here.