I’m an ex-Premier League star who became an actor – I nailed my audition as a gangster and could be the next James Bond
FORMER Everton star Royston Drenthe has claimed he could be the next James Bond after turning his hand to acting following his retirement from football.
The Dutchman, 36, spent five years at Real Madrid from 2007 to 2012, winning the LaLiga title and Spanish Super Cup.
During the end of his stint with Los Blancos, he had a season-long loan in England with the Toffees, bagging four goals in 27 games.
He then left the Spanish capital 11 years ago and had spells with the likes of Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.
Drenthe eventually hung up his boots last year - having already started his acting career by landing a role as a gangster in hit Dutch crime drama Mocro Maffia in 2021.
That was after he had tried his hand at rap back in 2017 when he released the track "Paranoia".
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But Drenthe insists acting is something he is far more passionate about than music.
Speaking exclusively to , he said: "A lot has been made about my 'rap career', but in truth that's just something I wanted to try out; I was never serious about pursuing a career in it.
"I did, however, always used to tell my mother that I wanted to be an actor one day; that was something I was very serious about. Aside from football, it was another dream of mine.
"I'm the kind of person who is happy to give anything a go, and so I didn't have a problem putting my name forward for a casting call for 'Mocro Maffia', a crime drama in the Netherlands. I can remember speaking to my agent about it: 'What are you doing?!'
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"But I wanted to give it a go; I asked him to let them know I was interested and shortly after I was sent a script and told I had three weeks to prepare for my audition.
Like I said, I was always keen to try out, but that doesn't mean I wasn't nervous - of course I was. This was my first time trying anything like this; I wasn't going into it with any experience whatsoever."
He continued: "For three weeks I studied and studied the lines until I could remember them inside out. And when it came to the day of my audition, the casting team couldn't believe it was my first time acting... they were so surprised I'd not done anything like this before.
"They told me they'd let me know whether or not I'd got the job within a couple of weeks, and three days later I heard back from them and was told I was successful.
"I loved it, I'm not going to lie - it was a great experience and something I wouldn't rule out doing again.
"I know Daniel Craig is giving up the role of James Bond soon... is that the next job for me? I'd have to work on my English a little more, I think!"
Away from acting, Drenthe has also spoken about his time working under manager David Moyes at Goodison Park.
And while he admits they had a volatile relationship at the time, he now appreciates what the ex-Everton boss was trying to do.
He added: "Back then, I was firmly of the belief that Moyes was simply out to prove to the other players that he could get under my skin. We'd argue and I'd just think 'What the f***?' 'Is he taking the p***?'.
"And while there are certain occasions where I can say I still feel I was in the right, on the whole I'd say he was. Ultimately, he wanted to get the best out of me as a player, he wanted to help me, I just couldn't see that at the time.
"But people change, and I can look back now a lot older and wiser, and I can understand why he did what he did with me.
"I really like him as a manager, too. I think that when he's given the right club, with the right amount of time, he can do great things. We saw it at Everton and we're seeing it again, now, at West Ham.
"Despite the club being in a difficult position earlier on in the season, he seems to have steered them away from relegation and they're in a really strong position in Europe.
"Sometimes certain moves just don't work out for you, and I think ultimately that was the case at Manchester United.
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"When you take over a club like that, the expectation is on you straight from the offset; you don't have time to settle in, or to get things wrong.
"And, as I said, I feel like Moyes is the kind of person who needs that time, to implement his own ideas."
