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List of actors considered for the James Bond character

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This is a list of actors who were considered for the role of James Bond, both officially and unofficially, but ultimately did not portray Bond. For a comprehensive list of the actors who have actually played the role of James Bond in the official films, please refer to the separate list of James Bond films.

Considered but not chosen

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Actors who were under consideration for the role of James Bond but not chosen.

Actor Film Year Reason
Trevor Howard Dr. No 1961 He was first considered by Kevin McClory for the abandoned Longitude 78 West film project, which was later revamped into the novel Thunderball.[1] However, Ian Fleming disagreed, feeling that at 43 years old, he was too old for the role. He was later considered again by Albert R. Broccoli for the film Dr. No.[2]
Stanley Baker He was unwilling to commit to a three-picture contract.[3]
Rex Harrison He was turned down in favour of Connery.[4]
David Niven He was turned down in favor of Connery (later played Bond in the 1967 parody Casino Royale) (Fleming's personal choice).[4]
Richard Todd He was Fleming's first choice for the role, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from getting it.[5]
Jeremy Brett On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1967 He feared the role would harm his career.[6]
Peter Purves Prior to becoming a Blue Peter presenter, Purves auditioned for the role of 007 but was unsuccessful.[citation needed]
Michael Caine He did not want to be typecast in spy films, having previously starred in the three Harry Palmer spy films.
Robert Campbell George Lazenby won the role based on a screen-test fight scene.[7]
Michael Bishop Father of comedian Des Bishop, who later wrote his biography, titled My Dad Was Nearly James Bond.[8][9][10]
Patrick Mower Reason unknown.[11]
Daniel Pilon Harry Saltzman felt he was too young; aged 27 at the time.[12]
John Richardson George Lazenby won the role based on a screen-test fight scene.[7]
Anthony Rogers
Terence Stamp His ideas for future films felt too radical for producer Harry Saltzman.[13]
Hans De Vries George Lazenby won the role based on a screen-test fight scene.[7]
Eric Braeden 1968 Albert R. Broccoli at first thought he was British and so considered him.[clarification needed] However, Broccoli, who believed that no one from outside the Commonwealth would be suitable as James Bond, decided against him after finding he was German American.[14]
Peter Snow He auditioned for On Her Majesty's Secret Service but was rejected by Broccoli and Saltzman for being too tall (6'5").[15]
Oliver Reed 1969 The producers did not want to spend the time or money needed to reshape Reed's poor public image.[16]
Timothy Dalton 1969–1972 He thought himself too young and did not wish to follow Connery. He declined the role again in 1979, before finally being cast in 1986.
Roger Green Diamonds Are Forever 1970 He filmed a screen test with Imogen Hassall, but was turned down in favor of Connery.[4]
Simon Dee Live and Let Die 1971 Put forward to follow Sean Connery (despite being thought of by most people as a talk show host, rather than an actor).[citation needed]
William Gaunt Auditioned for the role as Bond for Live and Let Die but lost the role to Roger Moore.
John Gavin Diamonds Are Forever,

Live and Let Die

1971, 1973 Was signed as the first American Bond after George Lazenby quit, but Sean Connery decided to return to the role instead. He was considered again for Live and Let Die, but was denied as producers felt Bond should remain British.
Simon Oates Was strongly considered but turned down when Sean Connery returned and was working on other projects when Roger Moore was selected.[17]
Ranulph Fiennes Live and Let Die 1972 For having "hands too big and a face like a farmer".[18]
Peter Laughton Broccoli remarked that he would have been chosen had he auditioned for On Her Majesty's Secret Service. However, following the casting of Lazenby, the producers were wary of choosing actors with limited or no acting experience and decided to settle with Moore.[19]
Guy Peters The producers wanted to cast an actor with a "known face".[20]
Timothy Dalton For Your Eyes Only 1979 Turned the role down for a second time as he did not like the direction the series was taking. He would eventually be cast in 1986 for The Living Daylights.
David Warbeck Was under contract to Eon as a 'reserve Bond' in case Moore quit, but Moore returned.[21]
Michael Jayston 1980 Role up for grabs when Roger Moore was considering quitting but Moore returned.[22] Jayston eventually portrayed the character in 1990 for a two-part BBC radio drama.[23]
Patrick Mower Auditioned when Roger Moore was considering quitting, but Moore returned[22]
Lewis Collins Octopussy 1982 Collins claims the producers thought he was too aggressive.[24]
Ian Ogilvy 1983 Roger Moore agreed to return.
James Brolin Screen-tested for Octopussy, was lined up for the part, even going so far as buying a house in London for the production, before Roger Moore once again agreed to return.
Pierce Brosnan The Living Daylights 1986 Became front runner for The Living Daylights after Timothy Dalton could not take the part due to his commitment to Brenda Starr. However, Brosnan's option to star in a further season of Remington Steele was taken up by NBC, and EON refused to have him do both Steele and Bond at the same time. Fortuitously, Dalton became available again at just that time, and so reaccepted the role, which he played until 1989. Brosnan would later play Bond from GoldenEye through to Die Another Day.
Daniel Pilon Timothy Dalton was chosen for the role.[25]
Sam Neill Although he impressed producers as Reilly, Ace of Spies, Neill lost out to Timothy Dalton for this iteration of Bond.
Antony Hamilton Was in negotiations with the producers before Timothy Dalton was chosen.
Mel Gibson 1987 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer wanted him for the role, but was rejected by Broccoli for not being British.[26]
Christopher Lambert French accent prevented him from being chosen.[27]
Neil Dickson Timothy Dalton was chosen.
Mark Greenstreet Told Terry Wogan in an interview that he was given a screen test for Bond but lost out to Timothy Dalton.
Finlay Light The little-known Australian model was one of the main contenders for the role in The Living Daylights, even signing a ten-year contract. Timothy Dalton was chosen anyway.
Andrew Clarke One of the most popular Australian actors of the 1980s, Clarke was considered but lost out to Dalton.
Simon MacCorkindale Timothy Dalton was chosen.
Sean Bean GoldenEye 1994 Was the second choice for EON if Timothy Dalton did not return; however, MGM overruled on both counts, and Pierce Brosnan was given the part. The producers were still impressed, and gave him the part of the villain Alec Trevelyan, rewritten from its original mentor part to become a direct parallel of Bond as Agent 006.
Mark Frankel Pierce Brosnan was chosen for the role.[28]
Paul McGann Was given an audition and impressed producers; however, MGM still insisted on Pierce Brosnan for the role. It is believed that McGann would have stepped in if Brosnan turned down the role.
Lambert Wilson Pierce Brosnan was chosen for the role.[29]
Henry Cavill Casino Royale 2005 The preferred choice of director Martin Campbell; however, was deemed too young to portray Bond.[30]
Sam Worthington Daniel Craig was chosen for the role.[30]
Rupert Friend Daniel Craig was chosen for the role.[31]
Julian McMahon Daniel Craig was chosen for the role.[32]
Matthew Rhys Did not impress the producers.[33]
Alex O'Loughlin Daniel Craig was chosen for the role. References to Bond were featured in the reboot of Hawaii Five-0 during the first season. The seventh and eighth seasons of the rebooted Hawaii Five-0 feature a recurring MI6 agent portrayed by Chris Vance (as MI6 agent Harry Langford) in 3 episodes.[34]
Clive Owen The producers were unwilling to provide gross profit points.[35]
Dougray Scott Reason unknown.[36]
Goran Višnjić Was reportedly unable to master a British accent.[30]

Considered but declined the role

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Actors who have come under consideration for the role of James Bond but have declined the offer for various reasons.

Actor Year considered Reason
Peter Lawford Dr. No 1958 Felt he was not offered enough money for the part and was reluctant to agree to a five-picture deal.[37]
Richard Burton Dr. No 1959 Felt the role was a new untested concept,[38] and wanted more than the producers would pay.[39]
1961
Cary Grant Felt he was too old at time being 58; also just wanted to do one film.[40]
Richard Johnson Terence Young's choice but did not want a contract because he was under contract to MGM.[41]
James Mason Offered a three-picture contract but turned down the role because he would only agree to do two. Mason was later selected to play the villain Hugo Drax in Moonraker, but the part eventually went to Michael Lonsdale in order to satisfy the requirements of an Anglo-French co-production under the 1965–79 film treaty.
Patrick McGoohan Felt the role was too promiscuous.
Rod Taylor Felt the role was beneath him.[42]
Steve Reeves 1962 Wanted more money than the producers would offer.[43]
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1967 Declined an offer from Albert R. Broccoli to screen test him for the role after he decided not to pursue acting. Would later become infamous when he vanished after his children's nanny was murdered.
Adam West Felt Bond must be British.[44]
Clint Eastwood Diamonds Are Forever 1970 Felt Bond must be British.[45][46]
Michael Gambon Felt he did not have good enough looks to play Bond.[47]
Burt Reynolds Felt Bond should be portrayed by a British actor.[48]
Jon Finch Live and Let Die 1972[49] Did not want to play the part.[49][50]
Liam Neeson GoldenEye 1994 At first, he claimed he was not interested in starring in action films at that time.[51] However, in reality, his girlfriend and later wife Natasha Richardson would not have married him if he took the role.[52]
Dominic West Casino Royale 2005 Heard a rumour that Pierce Brosnan would return and ruled himself out.[53]
Christian Bale Unknown Considered the franchise to be "very British" and felt that the character embodied "every despicable stereotype about England and British actors." Additionally, he remarked that he had "already played a serial killer" in American Psycho, suggesting he was not interested in taking on the role of Agent 007.[54]

Both Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were linked to the role of James Bond at least a decade before eventually taking it, but declined for various reasons.

Dalton was first offered the role in 1967 at the age of 21, but felt he was too young for the part. He ultimately accepted the role 20 years later. Dalton was offered the role again in 1979, but declined once more, citing dissatisfaction with the direction of the Bond films, which he felt had become overly reliant on gadgetry and formulaic plots.

Both Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton were also approached to take over for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, but neither accepted the role at the time, as they did not want to be seen as the actor replacing Sean Connery.

Pierce Brosnan was initially chosen to play Bond in The Living Daylights, but had to withdraw due to his commitment to the television show Remington Steele, which was unexpectedly renewed, keeping him in the lead role. As a result, the part went to Dalton. Brosnan eventually made his debut as James Bond in GoldenEye.

Considered but chosen for a different role in a Bond film

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The following actors were considered for the role of James Bond, but were cast as supporting or opposing characters; in the case of Colin Salmon, consideration as Bond came after his appearances in the films.

Actor Years auditioned/considered Film Character Affiliation
George Baker Dr. No 1961 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) 		Sir Hillary Bray
Captain Benson 		College of Arms
Royal Navy
Michael Billington On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Live and Let Die

Moonraker

For Your Eyes Only

Octopussy

1968, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1982 The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Sergei Barsov (KGB agent Anya Amasova's lover) KGB
Julian Glover[55] Live and Let Die

For Your Eyes Only

1971, 1979 For Your Eyes Only (1981) Aristotle Kristatos MI6/KGB (double agent)
Sean Bean The Living Daylights

GoldenEye

1986, 1994 GoldenEye (1995) Alec Trevelyan Former MI6 agent 006 turned villain
Ralph Fiennes GoldenEye

Casino Royale

1994, 2004 Skyfall (2012)
Spectre (2015)
No Time to Die (2021) 		Gareth Mallory/M MI6
Colin Salmon[56] Casino Royale 2004 Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Die Another Day (2002) 		Charles Robinson MI6

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lycett, Andrew (1996). Ian Fleming. London: Phoenix. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-85799-783-5.
  2. ^ Field, Matthew; Chowdhury, Ajay (2015). Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films. The History Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-7509-6421-0.
  3. ^ "Baker's 'Zulu' battles against the elements and Hollywood". WalesOnline. 9 April 2004.
  4. ^ a b c "James Bond: every man's fantasy". The National. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Richard Todd". The Daily Telegraph. London. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  6. ^ "James Bond: The Men Who Could've Been 007 - Sabotage Times". Archived from the original on 24 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b c "The 5 finalists of 1967". Universal Exports.
  8. ^ "Review: Memoir: My Dad Was Nearly James Bond by Des Bishop". Independent.ie. 22 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Father of comedian dies after battle with lung cancer". Irish Examiner. 5 February 2011.
  10. ^ "The name's Bishop, Des Bishop and what a show!". Independent.ie. 19 January 2011.
  11. ^ "Alternative007". www.alternative007.co.uk.
  12. ^ CanalD, Episode: Daniel Pilon
  13. ^ Foster, Alistair (9 May 2013). "Terence Stamp: I blew the chance to play James Bond". London Evening Standard. Evening Standard Limited. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  14. ^ pp. 18-19 Weaver, Tom Eric Braeden Interview in I Talked with a Zombie: Interviews with 23 veterans of Horror and Sci-fi Films and Television McFarland, 2009.
  15. ^ "The name's Snow, Peter Snow: 18 Bonds who never were". The Daily Telegraph. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  16. ^ "The name's Snow, Peter Snow: 18 Bonds who never were". The Telegraph. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  17. ^ "The Avengers Declassified: The Stage Show". Declassified.theavengers.tv. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  18. ^ "Ranulph Fiennes - Ranulph Fiennes Biography, Explorer, Information, Profile, History". Famouspeople.co.uk. 7 March 1944. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  19. ^ "The Man Who Could Have Been Bond". Alternative007.co.uk. 2001. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  20. ^ Robert. "The Man Who Could Have Been Bond". Alternative 007. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  21. ^ "David Warbeck considered as James Bond". Alternative 007.
  22. ^ a b "INTERVIEWS Michael Jayston". jayston.awardspace.com.
  23. ^ "James Bond - You Only Live Twice - BBC Radio 4 Extra". BBC.
  24. ^ Hill, Valerie (2004) "Lewis Collins", Liverpool Daily Post, 4 June 2004
  25. ^ "Daniel Pilon Interview in French about James Bond". Telequebec.tv.
  26. ^ Broccoli, Albert R; Zec, Donald (1998). When the Snow Melts: The Autobiography of Cubby Broccoli. London: Boxtree. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-7522-1162-6.
  27. ^ "Christopher Lambert biography in French". Nanarland.
  28. ^ "Alternative007". Alternative007. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  29. ^ "Lambert Wilson". wordiQ.
  30. ^ a b c "Bond race 'entering final stages'". BBC News. 29 September 2005.
  31. ^ "Rupert Friend". NetGlimse. Archived from the original on 19 June 2011.
  32. ^ "Julian McMahon says he is a final candidate for James Bond #6 role, decision in a couple of months". MI6. Archived from the original on 16 December 2005.
  33. ^ Frost, Caroline (22 April 2023). "Matthew Rhys Reveals How He Messed Up His James Bond Audition With A Joke". Deadline Hollywood.
  34. ^ "Alex O'Loughlin". StarPulse.
  35. ^ "James Bond Producers Lose Clive Owen Over Contract Points". Movies Online.
  36. ^ "Dougray Scott rumored Next James Bond". Movies Online.
  37. ^ Spada, James (1991). Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets. Bantam. ISBN 0-553-07185-8.
  38. ^ "Richard Burton could have been the first Bond star | Hollywood News - Yahoo! India Movies". In.movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 22 June 2009.[dead link]
  39. ^ "The World Is Never Enough - The Moonraker Bond Station Where All Other Bond Sites End This One Begins". Freewebs.com. 5 September 1939. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  40. ^ "Cary Grant as James Bond". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  41. ^ Richard Johnson Interview Cinema Retro #10
  42. ^ "Rod Taylor :: Updates". Rodtaylorsite.com. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  43. ^ Lerner, Robert (13 November 2020). "Local actor turns down "James Bond" role". Valley Roadrunner. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  44. ^ West, Adam; Rovin, Jeff (1994). Back to the Batcave: My Story. Titan Books. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-852-86529-0.
  45. ^ McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-638354-3.
  46. ^ "Eastwood James Bond". Entertainment One India. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  47. ^ "Michael Gambon Interview about James Bond audition". Youtube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  48. ^ Reynolds, Burt (1994). My Life. New York: Hyperion. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-786-86130-9 – via Internet Archive.
  49. ^ a b "Obituaries: Jon Finch". The Telegraph. London. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  50. ^ "Actor turned his back on fame, James Bond role". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 2013.
  51. ^ "Neeson spurned Bond". Irish Examiner. 21 February 2005.
  52. ^ "Liam Neeson turned down 007 role to marry Natasha Richardson". The Independent. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  53. ^ "British actor Dominic West rules himself out of James Bond role despite audition". MI6. Archived from the original on 4 March 2006.
  54. ^ "Why Christian Bale Turned Down Playing James Bond". Screen Rant. 29 March 2020.
  55. ^ "Sam Neill and Julian Glover Were Almost James Bond". Cinematical. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  56. ^ "Salmon Reignites Black Bond Speculation". Contact Music. 5 October 2005.
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