A BRITISH film star and James Bond hopeful has revealed his ambitious plans to land another major movie role.
Danny Clifford, 39, has performed in action movies and theatre often putting his body on the line to carry out impressive stunts.
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He’s worked with the likes of Deadpool and Hollywood stuntman, Dan Rizzato, and co-starred in The Freelancer on Disney Plus.
The actor even feels a resemblance to Superman’s Henry Cavill because of a shared “respect for their craft” and commitment to staying in shape.
But now he’s thrown his hat into the ring to become the next Gladiator.
“I’ve always liked historical pieces, period dramas and stuff like that.
“But I’d like to take my hand to something along the lines of Gladiator because I work out quite a lot. I’m in shape, I’m an ex bodybuilder,” he said.
Failing that, Danny wouldn’t mind a lead role as a cowboy after learning to ride on a semi-wild horse on a farm in Mullingar, Ireland.
He told The Sun: “I love horses. I ride horses all the time. I lived in Ireland for a few years and I learned how to ride a horse over there,
“I just fell in love with it all. So I go riding regularly now.”
He previously told The Sun why he should be cast as the next James Bond, and recently likened himself to the notorious Sean Connery.
“I tick all the boxes so don’t see why not. I think fit the match. I’m in shape,” he said.
Similar to the former 007 star, Danny has a background in theatre, a passion for bodybuilding and was raised in a working class family.
But the actor doesn’t want to stop there.
Like Mel Gibson, he believes his future as a “leading man” won’t be limited to acting.
He’s already written a play which has gained “five-star reviews” and which he hopes to turn into a pilot episode soon.
Being creative is something that runs in the family, said Danny, who’s father was a soap-opera actor and writer.
But his career as a stuntman and now an actor was not always the life he envisaged, having initially embarked on a career as a firefighter.
The emotional strain of attending bloody car crashes, burning buildings and families losing their homes has stood Danny in good stead.
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Renowned Mexican actor Emilio Echevarría, best known for his role in the James Bond film Die Another Day, has died at the age of 80.
Echevarría, whose acting career spanned nearly five decades, passed away on Saturday in Mexico City.
His death was officially announced on Monday by The Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.
The actor gained global recognition for his role as Raoul alongside Pierce Brosnan in the 2002 Bond film.
Echevarría began his career in Mexican theatre and film, steadily building a reputation as one of the country’s most skilled actors.
He gained widespread acclaim for his role in Amores Perros (2000), directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, where he played El Chivo, a homeless man with a haunting past.
Despite the vastly different roles, he believes the skills developed as a firefighter have aided his performances.
He told The Sun: “Growing up, I wanted to do something that challenged me and something that gives back to people.
“It was 9/11 that ignited something inside me. Seeing all those people rushing into burning buildings, it was heartbreaking and heroic at the same time.
“I’ve been to serious car crashes, house fires – it’s all testing on your emotions. You can be on a night shift in a nice, warm bed and then 30 minutes later there’s a big car pile-up and blood everywhere. I was 18 when I signed up, so you grow up very fast.”
Danny moved to Australia in his early 20s, before returning to the UK and starting a construction business three years later.
But a desire for action and “living like James Bond” saw him begin taking acting classes.
Danny began taking classes specialising in fighting scenes and choreography while attending the Royal Academy for Dramatic Art.
He then got a break with a role filming for a Disney series in Morocco, where it was also his first chance to show off his skills.
The stuntman said: “They changed my lines on the day, so I was surrounded by 600 extras desperately trying to relearn them. Then there was a stunt-double who looked absolutely nothing like me.
“He was 5ft 8ins and eight-stone wet-through, so they had to use me for the stunts. There was lots of fighting scenes, but I only had three chances to get everything right.”
Fans spot HUGE clue that British TV star has secretly signed as the next James Bond after rumours
James Bond fans think a massive British telly star has already signed up in secret to play the next 007.
Movie buffs are convinced they spotted a major clue in a TV show that points the finger at who will play Bond next.
Eagle-eyed Benedict and Hannah Townsend run a TV podcast together and they are certain James Norton has signed on the dotted line.
The couple think they stumbled upon a big giveaway clue while watching ITV new hit drama Playing Nice, which stars Happy Valley and Grantchester star James.
In the third episode of the series, James’ character Pete Riley is at a gala event.
But while the rest of the attendees are wearing swanky tuxedos, James is not. He is in a plain suit.
But life as a stuntman is also often fraught with life-endangering activity, too.
Broken bones are a regular occurrence for Danny, who performs his own stunts – often having to tackle his own fear of heights.
He said: “I have so much respect for Tom Cruise because he does his own stunts. That is the road I want to go down.
Danny is set to star alongside Ant Middleton in UK thriller Shelter, with filming to begin in July, while he will also play an MI5 agent in another upcoming movie.
I once had a near-miss where I nearly broke my neck. I was falling down a floor in an abandoned building onto a matt.
“The scene was a guy kicking me through a window. I’m scared of heights, so it’s nerve-wracking for me already and you have to make it all look dramatic, but no one replaced the matt following each fall, so it slowly shifted to the point I only just caught the end of it.
“I often get bruised and bashed about.”
And Danny believes stunt performers deserve more credit for putting their body on the line behind the scenes.
He added: “Actors want to be seen, ‘look at me and give me the awards’ – they want to take all the credit.
“It’s rare that actors do many stunts. It’s why I have so much respect for people like Tom Cruise. They normally just stand there or have their feet up while we put our bodies on the line.
Now Danny has set his sights on a lead role in an iconic action movie.
The stuntman believes he would be perfect for the role, thanks to a background in bodybuilding and ability to tackle stunts.
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