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Before endearing himself to a new generation as Professor Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" films, Michael Gambon was among 10 predominantly stage actors considered to replace George Lazenby’s failed Bond. Gambon passed on the part—though with a sense of humor. He said he was too “bald, had a double chin, and had girls’s tits.” Producers responded to the self-deprecating note with equal wit: “so has Sean Connery, we just put a wig on him.”
Sean Connery? Daniel Craig? Timothy Dalton? George Lazenby? (OK, maybe not him.) Everyone has their own opinion on which hunky actor best filled out 007’s suave suit, or most devastatingly quipped the indelible introduction: “Bond, James Bond.” But could Mel Gibson have measured up? How would have Michael Caine wielded the gun? From Cary Grant to Clint Eastwood, here’s a look at some of the stars who almost had their shot at preferring their martinis “shaken, not stirred.”
Mel Gibson proved with his own hit action franchise that he can be lethal and knows his way around a weapon. So the dashing Aussie seemed a logical choice to play Bond—except for one crucial fault. He was too short. The height elitist? Producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. “At one point Mel Gibson wanted to play Bond. And Cubby was against it. Cubby first of all had a thing about tall people. Bond had to be tall. And so Mel Gibson was too short," said Bond screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz. “Somebody at (film studio) United Artists said to me, ‘Call him and tell him Mel Gibson would be great.’ And Cubby said, ‘I don't want to make a Mel Gibson movie, I want to make a James Bond movie.’”
Mr. Barbra Streisand reportedly screen tested to play Bond when Roger Moore was dropping hints that he wanted to hang up his spy suit. Unfortunately for Brolin, Moore ultimately decided to continue on with the franchise.
Credit Clint Eastwood with having a canny sense of awareness. When he was offered Bond after the success of "Dirty Harry," he told producers that 007 needed to be played by a Brit.
Of all the actors who almost played Bond, Sam Neill may have actually been the closest. The "Jurassic Park" actor was the frontrunner to star in "The Living Daylights" after Pierce Brosnan couldn’t get out of his commitment to "Remington Steele" to take on the part (Brosnan, of course, eventually played Bond in several films). Neill screen tested for the part, but eventually lost out to Timothy Dalton, who himself was considered for 007 when he was younger, but was passed over for looking too boyish.
Before endearing himself to a new generation as Professor Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" films, Michael Gambon was among 10 predominantly stage actors considered to replace George Lazenby’s failed Bond. Gambon passed on the part—though with a sense of humor. He said he was too “bald, had a double chin, and had girls’s tits.” Producers responded to the self-deprecating note with equal wit: “so has Sean Connery, we just put a wig on him.”
You can thank Michael Caine for the George Lazenby catastrophe. The actor was hired for "On Her Majesty’s Secret Service" when Caine first passed on the part.
Henry Cavill may be donning "Superman’s" red cape for the upcoming new spin on the superhero, but the actor had a frustrating previous track record of almost donning various other spandex uniforms and inhabiting iconic franchise leads. Cavill was among the final group of actors considered for Batman Begins, Edward Cullen in "Twilight," Cedric Diggory in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (he must really hate Robert Pattinson), Superman in a never-off-the-ground film by McG, and, before Daniel Craig signed on, James Bond in "Casino Royale."
Ian Fleming was reportedly inspired to write Bond after watching Cary Grant’s performance in "Notorious." But when the actor was offered the part in the film adaptation of Fleming’s novels, Grant, then 59 years old, had the wisdom to call himself too old for the project, and turned it down.
Liam Neeson’s unlikely status as one of the box office’s top action stars is a little ironic, as the actor was reportedly offered Goldeneye, but turned it down because he didn’t want to star in action films.
