This is a list of actors who were considered for the role of James Bond, both officially (auditioned by the film producers) and unofficially, but did not play the role of agent 007. The separate list of James Bond films details the actors who have played the role of agent 007.
Actors who 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. Ian Fleming disagreed feeling Howard, at 43 years, was too old for the role.[1] He was again considered by Albert R. Broccoli for Dr. No.[2] |
| Stanley Baker | He would not 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). | ||
| Richard Todd | He was Ian 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
| Michael Bishop | Father of comedian Des Bishop, who later wrote his biography, entitled My Dad Was Nearly James Bond.[7] [8] [9] | ||
| Patrick Mower | Reason unknown.[10] | ||
| Daniel Pilon | Harry Saltzman felt he was too young; aged 27 at the time.[11] | ||
| John Richardson | George Lazenby won the role based on a screen-test fight scene.[12] | ||
| 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. | ||
| Eric Braeden | 1968 | Albert R. Broccoli at first thought he was British and so considered him. 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. |
| 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). |
| 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 | ||
| 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. |
| Sam Worthington | Daniel Craig was chosen for the role. | ||
| Rupert Friend | Daniel Craig was chosen for the role.[30] | ||
| Julian McMahon | Daniel Craig was chosen for the role.[31] | ||
| Matthew Rhys | Did not impress the producers.[32] | ||
| 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.[33] | ||
| Clive Owen | The producers were unwilling to provide gross profit points.[34] | ||
| Dougray Scott | Reason unknown.[35] | ||
| Goran Višnjić | Was reportedly unable to master a British accent.[36] | ||
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. NoOn Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1959, 1961, 1968 | Felt the role was a new untested concept,[38] and wanted more than the producers would pay.[39] |
| Cary Grant | Dr. No | 1961 | 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.[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 "very British" as well as having the opinion that the character represented "every despicable stereotype about England and British actors" and that he had "already played a serial killer" in American Psycho.[54] |
Both Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were linked to the role at least a decade before taking it but declined for various reasons.
Dalton was offered the role in 1967 at the age of 21 and finally took the role 20 years later. Dalton declined the offer again in 1979 because he felt the plot directions of the Bond films were becoming less realistic and more dependent on gadgetry and repeated plot formulas.
Both Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton also did not accept the role for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, feeling that they did not want to be viewed as the man who replaced Sean Connery. Pierce Brosnan was chosen as Bond for The Living Daylights, but had to leave the role because the show Remington Steele had been renewed, with Brosnan playing the lead role. The role then went to Dalton. Brosnan made his debut as Bond in GoldenEye.
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
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 DieFor 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 | GoldenEyeCasino 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 |