The conversation around Callum Turner over the last couple of weeks has been about his wedding. He and Dua Lipa officially got married last week in England, followed by a celebration in Italy this past weekend attended by all kinds of celebrities, like Elton John, Adele, Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau, Charli XCX, and more. Dua and Callum were photographed yesterday in Palermo with friends and family to wrap up the festivities.

For The Hollywood Reporter then, it was a good time to put him on the cover of their new issue this week. Callum has three upcoming projects releasing this summer – two independent films and a studio rom-com co-starring Monica Barbaro, One Night Only, directed by Will Gluck, and this movie is coming with some expectations. They’re hoping to capture the Anyone But You audience, with a slice of Easy A, two of Will’s previous projects with actors Callum is hoping to level up to.

That’s the thesis of this THR profile: Callum Turner is making the case to join the current class of under 40 stars in Hollywood who can work in smaller, character-driven stories and box office friendly projects. And he has some solid endorsement – so many different directors pop up in this piece to basically cape for him, and also George Clooney (who directed Callum in The Boys in the Boat) goes on record in this article to say, emphatically, that Callum has it. 

I’m into Callum Turner, he’s hot, I enjoy watching him onscreen, and I definitely ship him with Dua. One Night Only, going by the trailer, is 100% my sh-t. So I’m paying attention, but that’s just me. I’m not convinced yet that Callum’s summer will have the impact, professionally, that is being strategised in this article. I’m not sure the audience is there, at least not yet. That said, in his favour, my question to those who remain neutral, even passive, about Callum’s prospects – if you can watch Glen Powell, why not Callum Turner?

And before you chafe at this comparison, this is the question Hollywood asks every day, a thousand times, about actors. These are the conversations happening at every meeting about casting and hype and ascent and potential. George Clooney pretty much confirms it in the first paragraph of the THR piece:

“Talk to any big-time producer or big-time director: They’re constantly going, ‘Who’s a leading man now? Who’s the one?’”

This is especially relevant because if we’re not talking about Callum in relation to Dua Lipa, we’re talking about his chances at becoming the new James Bond. Callum refuses to entertain any speculation with THR but, for what it’s worth, George Clooney is has made his vote known:

“I hope Callum ends up being the next Bond. I think he would be a great Bond,” Clooney says, unprompted. “He’s tall and handsome and charming and British, so he’s the perfect guy to do it.”

At this point, I wonder if Callum’s name coming up in almost every possible Bond conversation is actually hurting him – because should he actually get the role, would anyone be surprised? Casting Bond, of course, should depend on performance and not how a press release is received.

I don’t care either way whether or not Callum is Bond, but I am intrigued in one of his next confirmed roles, for which he’ll be moving with Dua to the US for several months. He’s signed on to star in The Comebacker with Tom Hanks who will play a pitching coach working with Callum, a major league baseball player. Callum Turner did not play baseball growing up in London but he definitely has an ideal pitcher’s build. I can’t wait to see him on the mound which… I just realised… why does that sound so dirty?

Click here for more on Callum in THR.

Callum Turner and Dua Lipa say goodbye to friends and family after their wedding in Italy, June 9, 2026

Photo credits: COBRA TEAM/BACKGRID

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