AceShowbiz - "Tomb Raider" star Dominic West has blown up the chatter about the next James Bond by suggesting 007 should be transgender.

The British actor, who has often been in discussions linked to Bond casting, thinks the superspy's days as a womanising lothario are over - and he has just the person for the role - "Colette" co-star Jake Graf's wife Hannah Graf.

"Maybe a transgender Bond would be cool," West told The Sunday Times. "There's a very cool woman who's the wife of an actor in "Colette", who is a captain in the electrical engineers, the highest-ranking transgender soldier in the army.

"She's a beautiful blonde girl who could be Bond. That's actually a brilliant idea. They should have a transgender Bond because there are a lot of transgender people in the army. They'd be ideal because they can do everything."

Both Graf and his wife identify as transgender.

Hannah has since responded to Dominic's endorsement via Twitter, insisting her husband is the man for the role.

"If you really want a transgender Bond, then I can think of no one better than @JakeGraf1. Smooth, devilishly handsome and actually an actor!!", she wrote.

https://t.co/Pk7AEKAAqS If you really want a transgender Bond, then I can think of no one better than @JakeGraf1. Smooth, devilishly handsome and actually an actor!!

— Hannah Graf (@hannahw253) December 24, 2018

Daniel Craig is expected to step down as 007 - a role he has played for over a decade - after his fifth Bond film, which will be released in 2020.

Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, and Henry Golding are among the fan favourites to take on the role, while "Outlander" star Sam Heughan recently revealed he auditioned for the role.

The actor said, "I did audition for Bond a long time ago when they were redoing it with Daniel Craig, when he was 'Bond 21'. They were going to go younger with him and it was a pretty good experience."