Just when we were all thinking that there was no way the Bond 23 (or should we say Skyfall ?) cast could get any classier, Sam Mendes has gone and added Albert Finney to the line-up.
According to the Daily Mail 's Baz Bamigboye (who has pretty good form with these Bond rumours), Finney recently joined the cast for a script reading at Pinewood Studios.
The English actor is said to be playing the sizeable role of "a Foreign Office mandarin with powers over the Secret Intelligence Service."
It won't be the first time Finney has crossed paths with a superspy, having appeared in The Bourne Ultimatum as key Treadstone figure Dr Albert Hirsch.
He joins what's possibly the best ever Bond cast, with Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Helen McCrory all signed on, and Daniel Craig returning as 007 for the third time.
With a set of thesps like that, it's no surprise Mendes is thought to be toning down the action in favour acting for his instalment.
Bond 23 / Skyfall / Whatever… will open on 26 October 2012, which is less than one year away!
