22 actors who were almost James Bond – and why they missed out on playing 007

From near-misses and quiet refusals to last-minute studio interventions, the history of James Bond is filled with tantalising 'what might have have beens'. For every actor who officially picked up the Walther PPK, there were several others who were seriously considered, actively courted or even provisionally cast – only to slip through the net. Some walked away on their own terms; others were edged out by shifting studio priorities or returning incumbents.

Across more than six decades of filmmaking, these almost-Bonds form a fascinating parallel history to the official 007 lineage. A-list movie stars, rising talents and future screen icons all found themselves in the frame at different moments, each representing a radically different version of the world’s most famous spy that never quite made it to the screen.

We begin in the 1960s, when Bond was still a cinematic gamble rather than a global institution – and when the search for the perfect 007 was far wider, more experimental and, in hindsight, full of surprising near-decisions.

Read more: How to choose the next James Bond, with casting boss Debbie McWilliams

The 1960s

In 1959 – three years before Dr. No would arrive in cinemas – Ian Fleming made efforts to bring Bond to the screen, pushing for Richard Burton to play 007 in a film he hoped would be directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with Fleming also eying author and screenwriter Eric Ambler to write the script.

Cary Grant – hot off North by Northwest – was reportedly considered for the lead in Dr No ahead of Sean Connery, though a formal offer was never made, supposedly due to Grant's unwillingness to sign up for a multi-picture deal.

By 1967, with Connery having fronted five Bond films, the hunt was on for a replacement – and before George Lazenby booked the part, Terence Stamp claimed to have been courted, though the late screen icon suggested in 2013 that he never received a follow-up call after an initial meeting.

The 1970s

Lazenby famously walked away from playing Bond after a single outing in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service – and according to Adam West (best known for the 1960s Batman television series) he was one of the actors in the running to replace him, telling Digital Spy in 2014 that he turned down the role because he felt 007 "should be an Englishman".

Burt Reynolds claimed to have also declined an offer for the same reason: "I think I could have done it well," he told The Guardian in 2015. "In my stupidity, I said, 'An American can’t play James Bond, it has to be an Englishman – Bond, James Bond. Nah, I can’t do it.' Oops. Yeah, I could have done it."

Michael Gambon also suggested that he was one of a number of actors who met with Bond producer Albert R Broccoli in the wake of Lazenby's departure, though he was never actually offered the part.

In the event, Connery would return one more time – for 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood recounted to the LA Times in 2010 how he was approached about playing the part next, but rejected it on the grounds that it was "Sean's deal" and it "didn't feel right [...] to be doing it".

Perhaps the most interesting not-quite-Bond in the 1970s was John Gavin – best known for his role in Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the Los Angeles-born actor actually signed a deal to play Bond, with Broccoli writing in his 1998 autobiography that Gavin had the "stamp and the style" of a British secret agent, impressing with his action chops in a screen-test.

But before filming began on Diamonds Are Forever, United Artists president and CEO David Picker intervened, insisting that Connery be lured back instead. Gavin was released from his contract without ever shooting a single scene as Bond.

The 1980s

There were echoes of the John Gavin situation when James Brolin auditioned for 007 and was, according to the Westworld actor, "hired" by Albert R Broccoli. Brolin told People earlier this year that with Roger Moore "out" after completing 1981's For Your Eyes Only, he had begin stunt training and even landed an apartment to stay in while filming 1983's Octopussy, only to find himself ousted – having never officially signed a contract – when Moore "decided to do one more".

Sam Neill also tried out for Bond in the late 1980s, though he ultimately lost out to Timothy Dalton. Neill's account, related to CinemaBlend in 2022, was that he auditioned "with extreme reluctance" having been pushed into it by his agent – though director John Glen later described the Jurassic Park actor's screen-test for 1987's The Living Daylights as "excellent", Neill himself called the process "mortifying", adding: "Luckily, I never heard from them again."

Mel Gibson was also, according to Broccoli's autobiography, being pushed as a Bond contender by Jerry Weintraub, the chairman of MGM/UA Communications, who suggested hiring the Lethal Weapon star on a two-picture deal. This never came to pass, though Gibson himself has stated that he was at least approached, telling JoBlo he "did think about it" but "turned it down".

The 1990s

Long before he reinvented himself as an actor star with 2008's Taken, Liam Neeson claims to have been "heavily courted" to play James Bond – he turned it down, according to a 2014 interview with the Hull Daily Mail, at the behest of his wife-to-be Natasha Richardson: "[She] said, 'If you play James Bond we’re not getting married' – and I had to take that on board because I did want to marry her."

Ralph Fiennes – later, of course, to take up the mantle of MI6 chief M – was also in contention for 1995's GoldenEye, meeting with producer Broccoli, though it "didn't lead to anything" and Pierce Brosnan would instead become the fifth official big-screen 007.

"I think I would’ve been a terrible Bond, actually," Fiennes told The Telegraph in 2014. "I think I’m happier playing M."

The 2000s

The list of actors who are known to have screen-tested for Bond – or have spoken about being approached – in the last 25 years is extensive.

Hugh Jackman suggested in a 2018 interview with The Howard Stern Show that producers were "interested" in having him play Bond, though with the caveat that he believed they were "canvassing six or seven people" – already attached to the X-Men film franchise, a busy Jackman opted not to pursue 007.

Among those to have been in the running for 2006's Casino Royale alongside Daniel Craig were: Dominic West (who confirmed to The Telegraph in 2005 that he'd auditioned), Homeland actor Rupert Friend (who screen-tested, but later told Far Out Magazine that, still in his early twenties, he was "too young" and didn't "have any of the hard knocks — emotionally, psychologically, physically — that a great Bond should have"), and Avatar's Sam Worthington (reportedly a finalist alongside Craig, though he later told Variety that he didn't feel "debonair" enough to play the part).

Karl Urban and Antony Starr – later co-stars on The Boys – were also both in contention for the film, with Urban having an early meetings with producers but not being able to progress to a final screen-test due to filming commitments. Starr did audition, though in an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, he compared the experience to "throwing a baitless hook into a very large pond, knowing you’re not gonna catch the fish."

The late Julian McMahon told Digital Spy in 2018 that he was "surprised" to be considered for Casino Royale, while The Beast in Me's Matthew Rhys recalled a "terrifying" audition for the film in a 2023 conversation with The Times, his attempts at humour (including suggesting he'd differentiate his Bond by sporting an eye-patch and a limp) reportedly going down poorly with producers.

Henry Cavill – a name long part of the Bond casting rumour mill – did in fact come close to landing the part in 2005, with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell later telling The Express that the Man of Steel star delivered a "tremendous" audition, but was ultimately felt, at just 22, to be "too young" to play the part. Cavill was still fielding questions about Bond as recently as last year – and he did play Napoleon Solo, a secret agent part-devised by Ian Fleming, in the 2015 film version of The Man from UNCLE.

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