Actor talks about boundary-breaking James Bond link

Luke Evans has said for "a gay kid from the valleys" to be in the running for Bond shows that "anything can happen"

Welsh film star Luke Evans has said even being considered for the part of James Bond is "boundary-breaking".

He said for a "Welsh boy... a gay kids from the valleys" to be considered "sends a message to the youth of my country [that] anything can happen".

Speaking at the Wales Screen Summit, the actor added that "nobody knows" who the next Bond will be.

However, he told those who had bet on him landing the role that they "may win some money, but don't come to me when you lose it".

Evans, 44, grew up in Aberbargoed, Caerphilly county, and has starred in films, including The Hobbit, Beauty and the Beast, and Fast and Furious 6.

At the screen summit, he went on to talk about Michael Sheen's TV directorial debut, The Way, which he has been cast in alongside Steffan Rhodri and Callum Scott Howells.

The three-part drama, which has just begun filming in Port Talbot, features Evans as a mercenary in pursuit of a family escaping a civil uprising.

Evans was speaking at the Wales Screen Summit, in Cardiff

Evans said that after working on set you'd "never think" that it was BAFTA nominee-Sheen's first directing gig.

"You look at the picture board in your trailer and think 'how has he managed to get all these people in this Welsh story?'," he said.

"Because he’s Michael Sheen. As a director he’s great, because he’s an actor. He understands how to speak to an actor.

"He knows what he needs and how to get it out of you."

In addition to directing the show, Sheen is also staring in and co-creating the series, something Evans could see himself turning to in his own future.

Luke Evans has been cast in Michael Sheen's TV directorial debut, The Way

"Wales is bubbling with creativity and generations of talent... there's so much going on here," Evans added.

"I have a production company, which I created a couple of years ago. We’ve bought the rights to a few books, and I’m very much involved in it."

He said that after shooting 37 feature films as an actor, he has seen some "great directing", but also some "terrible" directing.

"It's just the way it is," he added.

"I’m getting to the point where I would love to put that hat on and try it. I’m a stickler for detail.

"I would love to do it here, bring it to Wales. There’s so many wonderful stories to be told - who knows, I might even be writing."

'Stories that matter to me'

Of the types of stories Evans said he would like to tell, he said he "wants to tell stories that make people think".

"That allow people to consider something they’ve not considered before, maybe empathise with something they’d never considered themselves," he said.

"That’s what I feel my job is now, to tell stories that matter to me [and the audience].

"Plus the odd bit of fluff where they watch me kill a dragon."