Younger actors who auditioned for Bond "didn't have the gravitas"
Debbie McWilliams – former casting director on the Bond series – explains why younger actors have historically failed to land the part of 007.
This article was originally published on 11th April, 2023.
Though the search for Daniel Craig's successor as 007 is still ongoing, the latest reports suggest Bond 26 director Denis Villeneuve and his collaborators are looking for a "fresh face" for the role.
The rumour mill has also seen younger stars including 29-year-olds Tom Holland and Harris Dickinson linked to the part.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com in 2023, Debbie McWilliams – who served as casting director on the 007 film series from 1981 until her retirement earlier this year – explained that while younger actors have previously tried out for Bond, including for 2006's Casino Royale, none of them quite fit the bill.
"When we started, it was a slightly different feel," McWilliams said of casting Casino Royale, which was set early in Bond's career at MI6.
"We did look at a lot of younger actors and I just don't think they had the gravitas, they didn't have the experience, they didn't have the mental capacity to take it on, because it's not just the part they're taking on, it's a massive responsibility.
"So we kind of scrubbed that idea and went back to the drawing board and started again."
That said, an older Bond doesn't necessarily mean an established movie star – McWilliams insisted that the next actor to take up the mantle of Ian Fleming's super spy should simply be "who's best for the part", pointing to the different levels of fame and success enjoyed by previous 007 actors prior to taking on the role.
"Timothy Dalton was known, but he was known as a Shakespearean actor, really. Pierce was known, but that was basically from television. Roger Moore was known from television. Sean Connery wasn't [known] – nobody had ever heard of him.
"A certain audience had heard of Daniel Craig, but much more the kind of independent cinema audience. He hadn't done any huge commercial film at all, really – [2004 film] Layer Cake I suppose was the most popular of the things he had done prior to Bond, but he wasn't a hugely well known actor."
Casino Royale director Martin Campbell previously revealed that among the actors auditioned to play Bond in that film was Henry Cavill, who was then aged just 22 and was indeed ruled out for being too young.
Following Daniel Craig's departure from the franchise in 2021's No Time to Die, other actors linked to Bond in the press have included Cavill (now aged 42), Bridgerton's Regé-Jean Page (37), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (35), Idris Elba (53), Slow Horses star Jack Lowden (35), Tom Hardy (48), and James Norton (40).
With the prospect of recasting Ian Fleming's spy looming once again, it'll no longer be long-time franchise guardians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson who will make the call – the pair have stepped back from day-to-day creative decisions, with Amazon MGM Studios assuming full creative control over the James Bond franchise.
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
