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Many people assume the
Bond producers would never hire an American to portray
the character in the official film series, but
American actors have been hired on two occasions and
asked on several others. Adam West was offered the
chance to appear in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
when Sean Connery chose not to return to the role, but
turned down the offer. John Gavin was hired in 1970 to
replace George Lazenby, but Connery was lured back at
the eleventh hour and it was he who appeared in
Diamonds Are Forever instead of Gavin. Burt Reynolds
was also asked by Cubby Broccoli in the early 70s to
replace Connery after Diamonds Are Forever, but turned
him down.
James Brolin was hired in 1983 to replace
Roger Moore, and was preparing to shoot Octopussy when
the producers convinced Moore to return. Several other
American actors, including Patrick McGoohan, and
Robert Wagner, have been offered the role only to turn
it down. To date, the only American to play the role
is Barry Nelson, although unofficially in the
Americanised version of the character in the 1954 TV
adaptation of Casino Royale.
Michael Gambon, who co-starred with current Bond actor
Daniel Craig in Layer Cake and Sylvia, was asked by
Cubby Broccoli to audition for the role in 1970 to
replace George Lazenby. Gambon spoke of the situation
in an interview: When he told me he was considering me
for the part of 007 himself, I was amazed. I objected,
"But I'm bald." "So was Sean -- we'll get around it."
he replied. "But I've got breasts like a woman," I
continued. "Then we'll use ice packs before the love
scenes like we did with Sean," he replied.
Roger Moore is the only English actor who was born in
England to have played Bond in the official film
series to date, although Daniel Craig will become the
second with the release of Casino Royale, Quantum of
Solace and Skyfall. Timothy
Dalton is English but was born in Wales. Sean Connery
was born in Scotland, George Lazenby was born in
Australia, and Pierce Brosnan (now an American
citizen) was born in Ireland.
While initially sceptical about Sean Connery being
chosen to play Bond (at one point dismissing him as an
"overgrown stuntman"), Ian Fleming liked his portrayal
so much that he eventually added background to the
character in the novels so that his father was
Scottish. Roger Moore was reportedly Fleming's initial
first choice for the Bond role, although other sources
have suggested that Fleming favored James Mason or
Cary Grant.
Timothy Dalton was originally contracted for three
films, with the third film planned for release in
1991. Although never officially confirmed, numerous
sources have suggested the title was to be The
Property of a Lady, after the short story from the
collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights. Legal
wranglings over ownership of the Bond franchise,
however, led to the series being put on hiatus until
1994.
With the release of Casino Royale, Daniel Craig will
become the first blond actor to have portrayed Bond;
although Roger Moore did sport sandy colored hair in
his first few Bond films, he is not considered a
blond.
Four Ian Fleming titles have thus far never been used
as film titles: The Property of a Lady, Risico, The Hildebrand Rarity and 007 in New
York. |
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