British actor Ben Whishaw will portray 007′s gadget designer Q in the upcoming James Bond film ‘Skyfall,’ the BBC is reporting. His agent confirmed the news that he will follow in the footsteps of Desmond Llewelyn, who played the role in ‘From Russia With Love.’ The character was most recently seen alongside Pierce Brosnan’s turn as Bond in 2002′s ‘Die Another Day.’

At the age of 31, the star of the BBC’s recent 1950s news drama ‘The Hour’ is 12 years younger than Daniel Craig, who currently plays Bond. This will be the first time the actor portraying Q will be younger than the actor playing Bond.

Q is the leader of the secret service’s fictional armory division, Branch Q. The character briefly appeared in the first Bond film, 1962′s ‘Dr. No,’ under his real name Major Boothroyd. He was played by Peter Burton in the franchise’s first installment.

Llewelyn then portrayed Q in every subsequent Bond movie, starting with ‘From Russia With Love,’ except in ‘Live And Let Die.’ The Welsh actor portrayed the role until his death in 1999.

Whishaw is known for his portrayal of Ariel in the 2010 film adaptation of ‘The Tempest.’ He also appeared in ‘Criminal Justice’ and ‘Brideshead Revisited.’ He’s next set to play Richard II in a new BBC Shakespeare adaptation, set to premiere to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Written by: Karen Benardello