List of Actors Considered for James Bond

This is a list of actors who were considered to play James Bond but have not chosen for various reasons. Some actors did screen tests but others wouldn't, because someone else was already announced as the new James Bond, or had been declined by producers prior to screen testing.

Considered but not Chosen[]

Actor	Year	Reason
Trevor Howard	1961	Sean Connery was chosen.
Stanley Baker	1961	Would not commit to a three-picture contract.
Rex Harrison	1962	Turned down in favour of Connery.
David Niven		Turned down in favour of Connery (later played Bond in the 1967 parody Casino Royale) (Fleming's personal choice).
Richard Todd		Ian Fleming's first choice for the role, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from getting it.
Jeremy Brett	1967	Reason unknown.
Peter Purves		Prior to becoming a Blue Peter presenter, Purves auditioned for the role of 007 but was unsuccessful and later dumped by his agent.
Michael Caine		Didn't want typecasting 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.
Dick van Dyke		His "English" accent failed to appeal to producer Albert R. Broccoli.
Patrick Mower		Reason unknown.
Daniel Pilon		Harry Saltzman felt he was too young, 27 years at time.
John Richardson		George Lazenby won the role based on a screen-test fight scene.
Anthony Rogers
Terence Stamp		His ideas for the future films felt too radical for producer Harry Saltzman.
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. But it was Broccoli's belief that no one from outside the Commonwealth would be suitable as James Bond.
Peter Snow	1968	Auditioned for On Her Majesty's Secret Service but was rejected by Broccoli and Saltzman for being too tall (6 ft 5in).
Oliver Reed	1969	Producers did not want to spend the time or money needed to salvage Reed's poor public image and alcohol problems.
Timothy Dalton	1969-1972	He thought himself too young and did not wish to follow Connery. Would decline the role again in 1979, before finally being cast in 1986.
Roger Green	1970	Turned down in favour of Connery (Auditioned and filmed for Diamonds Are Forever) (Filmed audition with Imogen Hassall).
Simon Dee	1971	Put forward to follow Sean Connery, despite thought by most people as a chat show host, rather than an actor.
William Gaunt	1971	Auditioned for the role as Bond for Live and Let Die but lost the role to Roger Moore.
John Gavin	1971, 1973	Was offered the role as the first American Bond after George Lazenby quit, but lost out when Sean Connery decided to return to the role instead. Gavin was considered again for Live and Let Die, but was denied as producers felt Bond should remain English.
Simon Oates	1971, 1973	Was strongly considered but turned down when Sean Connery returned; was working on other projects when Roger Moore was selected.
Ranulph Fiennes	1972	For having "hands too big and a face like a farmer".
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.
Guy Peters		The producers wanted to cast an actor with a "known face".
George Lazenby	1973	Director Guy Hamilton did not want him cast for Live and Let Die
Timothy Dalton	1979	Turned the role down for a second time as he did not like the direction the series was taking. Would eventually be cast in 1986 for The Living Daylights.
David Warbeck	1979	Acting considered too "wooden".
Michael Jayston	1980	Role up for grabs when Roger Moore was considering quitting but Moore returned. Jayston eventually portrayed the character in 1990 for a two-part BBC radio drama, and also voiced "Brooke Bond", a chimp parody of James Bond on the PG Tips TV adverts in the UK.
Patrick Mower	1980	Auditioned when Roger Moore was considering quitting, but Moore returned
Lewis Collins	1982	Collins claims the producers thought he was too aggressive.
Ian Ogilvy	1983	Roger Moore agreed to return. Ogilvy had recently recorded a series of James Bond abridged audio books and later played a Bond-like character in a TV commercial.
James Brolin	1983	Was lined up for the part, even going so far as buying a house in London for the production, before Roger Moore agreed to return. Audtioned in his native American accent.
George Lazenby	1983	Was a contender for the non-Eon film Never Say Never Again but dropped in favour of Connery.
Pierce Brosnan	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 series 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 freed up 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.
Sam Neill		Although he impressed producers as Reilly, Ace of Spies, and filmed a screen test, 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	MGM suggested the American-born Australian actor for the role, but was rejected by Albert. R. Broccoli for not being British (this despite other Australians being seriously considered at this time - see below - and Australian George Lazenby previously playing Bond).
Christopher Lambert		French accent prevented him from being chosen.
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 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	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 Trevelyan, rewritten from the mentor part it originally was, to become a direct parallel of Bond as Agent 006.
Mark Frankel		Pierce Brosnan was chosen for the role.
Paul McGann		Was given an audition and did impress producers, however, MGM insisted still on Pierce Brosnan for the role, but it was believed that McGann would have stepped in if Brosnan turned down the role.
Lambert Wilson		Pierce Brosnan was chosen for the role.
Henry Cavill	2005	The preferred choice of director Martin Campbell; however, was deemed too young to portray Bond. As of 2022, he is one of the favourites to succeed Daniel Craig.
Rupert Friend		Daniel Craig was chosen for the role.
Julian McMahon		Daniel Craig was chosen for the role.
Alex O'Loughlin		Daniel Craig was chosen for the role. References to Bond was featured in the reboot of Hawaii Five-0 during the first season.
Clive Owen		The producers were unwilling to provide gross profit points.
Dougray Scott		Reason unknown.
Goran Višnjić		Reason unknown.

Considered but Declined[]

Actor	Year considered	Reason
Richard Burton	1959, 1961, 1968	Felt the role was a new untested concept, and wanted more than the producers would pay.
Cary Grant	1961	Felt he was too old at time being 58; also just wanted to do one film.
Richard Johnson		Terence Young's choice but did not want a contract, because he was under contract to MGM.
James Mason		Offered a three-picture contract but only agreed to do two; turned down the role. Mason was later selected to play the villain Hugo Drax in Moonraker (film), 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		Role too promiscuous. Unlike some actors, McGoohan did not enjoy kissing or sex scenes. He was notable for the spy series Danger Man and the Prisoner.
Rod Taylor		Felt the role was beneath him.
Steve Reeves	1962	Wanted more money than the producers would offer.
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan	1967	Declined an offer from Cubby 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.
Michael Gambon	1970	Felt he did not have good enough looks to play Bond.
Clint Eastwood		Felt Bond must be British.
Burt Reynolds
Adam West
Jon Finch	1972	Did not want it
Liam Neeson	1994	Not interested in starring in action movies. In reality, his girlfriend would not marry him if he had taken the role.^[1] Neeson had in fact played numerous action roles before and since.
Hugh Jackman	1999 or 2001	Conflicts between X-Men 2 and Bond.^[2]
Dominic West	2005	Heard rumours that Daniel Craig got the role and ruled himself out

Cast in a Different Role[]

David Niven and Barbara Bouchet playing a very different James Bond and Miss Moneypenny

Actor	Years auditioned/considered	Film	Character	Affiliation
David Niven	1962	Casino Royale	Sir James Bond (non-Eon role)
George Baker	1962	On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) 'The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)	Sir Hillary Bray Captain Benson	College professor Royal Navy
Michael Billington	1968, 1973, 1979, 1981, 1983	The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)	Sergei Barsov (KGB agent Anya Amasova's lover)	KGB
Julian Glover	1979	For Your Eyes Only (1981)	Aris Kristatos	MI6/KGB (double agent)
Sean Bean	1987, 1994	GoldenEye (1995)	Alec Trevelyan	Former MI6 agent 006 turned villain
Ralph Fiennes	1994, 2004	Skyfall (2012)	Gareth Mallory/M	MI6
Colin Salmon	2004	Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) The World Is Not Enough (1999) Die Another Day (2002)	Charles Robinson	MI6