Declined The Role
A number of actors who have come under consideration for the role of James Bond have declined the offer for various reasons.
| Actor | Year considered | Reason for denial |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Reeves | 1962 | Wanted more money than the producers would offer. |
| Richard Burton | 1959, 1961, 1968 | Felt the role was a new untested concept/wanted more than the producers would pay. |
| Jon Finch | 1972 | Didn't want it |
| Cary Grant | 1961 | Felt he was too old at time being 58; also just wanted to do one film. |
| Richard Johnson | 1961 | Terence Young's choice but did not want a contract, because he was under contract to MGM. |
| James Mason | 1961 | Offered a three-picture contract but only agreed to do two; turned down the role. |
| Patrick McGoohan | 1961 | Role too promiscuous. |
| Rod Taylor | 1961 | Felt the role was beneath him. |
| Burt Reynolds | 1970 | Felt Bond must be British. |
| Adam West | 1970 | Felt Bond must be British. |
| Clint Eastwood | 1970 | Felt Bond must be British. |
| Michael Gambon | 1970 | Felt he did not have good enough looks to play Bond. |
| Liam Neeson | 1994 | Not interested in starring in action movies. |
| Hugh Jackman | 2005 | Not satisfied with plot direction |
| Ewan McGregor | 2005 | Fear of typecasting |
| Dominic West | 2005 | Heard rumors that Pierce Brosnan got the role and ruled himself out |
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 denied 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 he 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, as Brosnan played the lead role. The role of Bond then went to Dalton. Brosnan made his debut as Bond in GoldenEye.
Read more about this topic: List Of Actors Considered For The James Bond Character
Famous quotes containing the words declined and/or role:
“He asked me whether I would not go with him to his house; I declined it, from an apprehension that my spirits would sink. We bade adieu to each other affectionately in the carriage. When he had got down upon the foot-pavement, he called out, “Fare you well;” and without looking back, sprung away with a kind of pathetick briskness, if I may use that expression, which seemed to indicate a struggle to conceal uneasiness, and impressed me with a foreboding of our long, long separation.”
—James Boswell (1740–1795)
“Nothing is ever simple. What do you do when you discover you like parts of the role you’re trying to escape?”
—Marilyn French (b. 1929)