James Bond is one of Hollywood’s most coveted roles, and some very famous actors came close to playing 007. As we wait for the identity of the seventh actor to land the role, here's a look back at the Bonds we never got.
As you read these words, several hopefuls are waiting for the big announcement, having screen tested to become the next James Bond.
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The shortlist has been revealed and we're days / weeks away from finding out which actor will succeed Daniel Craig in the iconic role. Will it be Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Josh O’Connor, or some unknown actor that will surprise everyone?
One thing is for sure: there can only be one. The rest will be ejected from the Aston Martin and their names added to a long list of would-be Bonds. These are the performers who were considered, who auditioned, and who even declined their licence to kill.
Here's a look back at those who lost out on the chance to don the famous tuxedo - with some of the screen test footage having leaked onto the internet.
Cary Grant
When it came to casting the first 007, many thought the effortlessly suave British-American star Cary Grant was the perfect fit. However, Grant went on the record and stated he was too old (58) to play Bond in Dr. No (1962). He also only wanted to do one film, and the producers were keen on holding down an actor for a multi-picture deal.
Michael Caine
It has been reported that Caine was offered the role of James Bond in 1967 after Sean Connery stepped down after You Only Live Twice. However, Sir Michael felt the role wasn’t right for him, telling The Daily Express: "I was always very much more ordinary. Bond was a glamorous, imaginative creation. I’ve always played real people."
Clint Eastwood
Failing to bag Caine following Connery's exit, another acting heavyweight was considered: Clint Eastwood. However, the Dirty Harry actor said he turned the offer down because he believed James Bond should be British. He told the Los Angeles Times: "My lawyer represented the Broccolis, and he came and said: 'They would love to have you.' But to me, that was somebody else’s gig. That’s Sean’s deal. It didn’t feel right for me to be doing it." Connery ended up coming back for Diamonds Are Forever for one last Martini.
Michael Gambon
The much-missed Irish-English thespian, best known to international audiences for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series, was approached to play James Bond for Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - following George Lazenby's solo outing in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (and before Connery agreed to one last adventure). Gambon turned it down, as he said he thought he was not good-looking enough to play the role. Funnily enough, he would go on to share the screen with Daniel Craig in 2004's Layer Cake – just before the latter was cast as Bond.
Michael Billington
British actor Michael Billington reportedly auditioned for Bond not once, not twice, but three times. He was shortlisted to replace Sean Connery for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Live And Let Die (1973), but was passed over every time. However, the Bond producers did cast him as KGB agent Sergei Barsov in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - in which he gets shot by Roger Moore's Bond in the opening ski sequence. Rough.
James Brolin
After 1981's For Your Eyes Only, Roger Moore was on the verge of retiring as 007. The Bond producers seriously considered replacing him with * gasp * an American! Josh Brolin was top of the list and screen tested to be up next in Octopussy. It nearly happened, until Moore agreed to return for two more films, before bowing out following 1985's A View To A Kill.
Sam Neill
Replacing Moore as Bond was always going to be tricky and one hot contender at the time was New Zealander Sam Neill. The actor auditioned for Cubby Broccoli, who went against director John Glen's wishes and picked Timothy Dalton instead. No shade to the much-missed Neill, but his instincts were dead on as Dalton remains one of the most underappreciated 007s - as well as the actor who paved the way for Daniel Craig's grittier iteration of Bond. Neill became a household name as Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993) and later revealed to Den Of Geek about his Bond screen test: "It was the last time that I was bullied into doing a screen test. My agent insisted that I go and do it, [saying] it would be rude otherwise."
Mel Gibson
Another possible Moore replacement was Mel Gibson, whose star was on the rise in early 80s, having become a household name thanks to the Mad Max films. MGM reportedly wanted him to take over as Bond and offered him the role. Depending on whose version you trust, either Gibson turned it down due to length commitment, or Cubby Broccoli rejected Gibson for not being British enough. Whatever the case may be, instead of starring in 1987's The Living Daylights, Gibson cranked his career up a gear with the first Lethal Weapon film released that same year.
Liam Neeson
Following Timothy Dalton's departure and the legal woes that resulted in a Bond drought from 1989 to 1995, several names were floated for the fifth 007 actor. A courted candidate was Liam Neeson, who hadn't starred in many action movies at the time. It was later revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that his girlfriend, Natasha Richadson, told Neeson that she wouln't marry him if he'd taken the role. "My lovely wife, God rest her soul, said to me while we were shooting Nell down in the Carolinas, 'Liam, I want to tell you something: If you play James Bond, we’re not getting married.' She gave me a James Bond ultimatum, and she meant it!" Neeson tied the knot in 1994 and remained with Richardson until her death in 2009.
Sean Bean
Before he was cast opposite Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye (1995), Sean Bean auditioned to play Bond twice. He lost out to both Timothy Dalton and Brosnan, but his screen tests were impressive enough for producers to cast him as rogue agent Alec Trevelyan.
Ralph Fiennes
Another actor who got the second-best gig... Before he played M in Skyfall, Spectre and No Time To Die, Ralph Fiennes was approached in the early 90s to succeed Timothy Dalton as Bond. In an interview with Seven Magazine, Fiennes revealed: “I don't think I felt ready to commit, and I think they were looking at Pierce. I think I would have been a terrible Bond anyway.”
Lambert Wilson
If you thought British tabloids showed their worst with the nonsensical frenzy surrounding Daniel Craig being "too blond for Bond", just imagine the uproar had the role of 007 been given to a Frenchman... Lambert Wilson was considered for the coveted part in GoldenEye (1995), but the British accent was a hurdle he couldn't clear, and the role eventually went to Pierce Brosnan.
Christian Bale
The rumour is that Barbara Broccoli courted Christian Bale for Bond after Brosnan left the role. However, the future Caped Crusader star was having none of it. According to The Daily Express, Bale said that he turned down the role as he felt Bond "was every despicable stereotype about England and British actors," adding that he'd already played a serial killer in American Psycho. Ouch.
Hugh Jackman
Following his star-making turn as Wolverine in the X-Men films, Hugh Jackman was in the running to replace Brosnan after 2002's Die Another Day. Jackman revealed he was indeed in talks to play Bond, but his shooting schedule didn't allow it. "I was about to do X-Men 2 and a call came from my agent asking if I’d be interested in Bond," he told Variety. "I just felt at the time that the scripts had become so unbelievable and crazy, and I felt like they needed to become grittier and real."
Julian McMahon
The Nip/Tuck star would have been an ideal Bond and was considered to replace Pierce Brosnan, showing that they were keen to look beyond Blighty once more. The Australian had the looks, the charisma and certainly the sophistication, but he was ultimately passed over in favour of Daniel Craig. McMahon went on to star as Doctor Doom in the Fantastic Four films and sadly died in 2025 at the age of 56.
Clive Owen
Following performances in Croupier, Godsford Park, The Bourne Identity, Closer and Sin City, Clive Owen emerged as a fan favourite to take over as Bond for Casino Royale. Considered as a frontrunner for years, Owen reportedly baulked at contractual obligations and a multi-picture deal that would have prevented him from starring in films like Inside Man and Children of Men.
Goran Višnjić
Croatian actor Goran Višnjić, best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the medical drama ER, intrigued prodcuers. The actor screen tested for Barbara Broccoli, who was impressed. But like Lambert Wilson before him, there were concerns about his accent and whether audiences would accept a non-British / non-Commonwealth actor. Shame, as the charismatic Višnjić would have brought an international dimension and flair to the character.
Michael Fassbender
Oh, the things that could have been... Michael Fassbender would have been perfect for Bond - had he not advocated for Daniel Craig during his audition! According to the Hollywood Reporter, the actor met with Barbara Broccoli and ended up vouching for his fellow actor: “I remember going into that room and meeting with her and Wilson and I think I was like, 'Daniel Craig is...' I don't know why I was promoting him. I should have been promoting myself.” A damn shame, as if we've learned anything from Inglorious Basterds, X-Men: First Class and Haywire, Fassbender has the physicality and charm required. As for his turns in Hunger, Shame and Black Bag, he's more than proven he's got the acting chops.
Henry Cavill
A then 22-year-old Cavill was very close to becoming Bond, as it was reportedly down to him and Daniel Craig for Casino Royale. Director Martin Campbell said Cavill gave a “tremendous” audition but it ultimately came down to age, as he thought the actor was too young for the role. Cavill ended up donning Superman's cape instead of the tux. Still, for many fans, he remains the Bond that got away.
Anthony Starr
Another New Zealander auditioned for the chance to be Bond in Casino Royale ... Anthony Starr, now best known for his role as Homelander on The Boys, gave a self-described "stone-faced" audition. “It is one of the worst readings of ‘Bond, James Bond’ you’ll ever see,” he shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast last year.
Sam Worthington
Before he Na'vid up for James Cameron, the Aussie actor auditioned for Bond alongside Cavill and Craig. However, he later revealed to Variety that he couldn't nail Bond's charisma. “I could play Bond as a killer, but I couldn’t get the debonair down for the life of me,” Worthington admitted. “The suit did not fit.”
Rupert Friend
When Rupert Friend auditioned in 2005 for Casino Royale, he only had one film on his resumé: the 2004 period drama The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp and John Malkovich. The then-23-year-old sent an audition tape, and like Starr, Worthington and Cavill, ended up missing out. While Craig proved he was a worthy Bond, Friend could have been an interesting choice, as subsequent roles in shows Homeland and Anatomy of a Scandal, as well as big screen turns in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The Young Victoria and The Death of Stalin showed how versatile a performer he is.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
It's been nearly six years since the last Bond film, No Time To Die, and the post-Daniel Craig years have meant plenty of rumours surroundingthe identity of the next actor to play Bond. One name repeatedly mentioned ever since 2022 has been Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The British star known for his roles in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (a low-key masterpiece, if you haven’t seen it), Kick-Ass, the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Nocturnal Animals and 28 Years Later was once considered the frontrunner for the seventh Bond... There were even rumours he had screen tested and that it was a done deal. Now, his name has fallen off the 007 radar – despite some clues hinting that he was still in the running. It seems - like many before him - that it wasn't meant to be, which is a shame as the 36-year-old would have made a solid Bond.
There we have it.
An exact timeline for finalizing the Bond 26 casting is not known. What we do know is that it's happening this year, as producer Amy Pascal revealed in August that "the end of the year is a good bet" for the official announcement.
Bond 26 will be directed by Canadian filmmaker and four-time Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve and is being written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. It will be the first Bond film since Amazon took full creative control over the franchise from longtime 007 custodians Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.
Production on the next Bond film is expected to kick off in 2027, with a release planned for 2028.
