Swedish actor Max von Sydow was also offered the role as Dr. No, but turned it down. He was later to appear as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again.
In Cinema Retro's exclusive interview with Richard Johnson in issue #10, the distinguished actor recalls having been offered the role of James Bond in for Dr. No. Johnson turned down the role, admitting today the name didn't carry the resonance it soon would with the release of the first film.
Lord of the Rings
In the original trilogy, Connery was offered the role of Gandalf, but he passed on playing the wise wizard as he reported didn't understand the script.
At 58 years old at the time of release in 1962, Grant felt he was too old for the role of Bond. Although that's the age Roger Moore was when his seventh and final 007 movie A View to a Kill hit cinemas in 1985. The Hitchcock movie star also only wanted to commit to one movie, not five.
Beloved British actor Idris Elba has taken himself out of the running to play James Bond in the next film to follow Daniel Craig's long run. The actor said at the World Government Summit in Dubai this week that he is more interested in playing and promoting his Luther character.
IANS. Actor Idris Elba is putting the 007 rumours to rest once and for all. The 50-year-old Golden Globe winner admitted that he was "nowhere" near being cast as James Bond following Daniel Craig's exit from the franchise.
Actor Idris Elba has addressed speculation that suggests he could be the new James Bond when Daniel Craig leaves the role. Elba said he is going to continue to play the tormented detective John Luther but won't be taking up the James Bond role.
In an interview with IndieWire, Jackman revealed that he turned down the role of Bond in order to focus on the X-Men series: “I had a look at it. I was like, 'If I'm doing that and Wolverine, I'll have no time to do anything else. '” He didn't want to take on more than one franchise at a time.
Just look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe stars, who have main roles in upwards of five movies in a row. But this, Dalton said, was too much of a commitment for him. Once he had learned he was going to be signed up for many movies in the future, he made the tough decision to break away from the James Bond role.
A few years ago, Clint Eastwood told the L.A. Times Hero Complex blog about how he was offered the role of James Bond. “I was also offered pretty good money to do James Bond if I would take on the role. This was after Sean Connery left.
John Astin, who played Gomez in the original Addams Family television show, has revealed that he auditioned for the part of Gandalf in Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings film franchise. Astin, who is now 92, said he “tested a few times for Gandalf” but the role eventually went to British actor Ian McKellen.
The search for the ideal Aragorn was among the most complicated. Stuart Townsend had to be sent home just before filming began, and Cage turned down the role due to certain life circumstances. The relatively unknown Viggo Mortenson landed the role, which became his best-recognized part.
Thanks for signing up! James Cameron said recently that Matt Damon needed to "get over" turning down a roughly $270 million role in "Avatar." In 2019, Damon told GQ that before the "Avatar" lead Sam Worthington was cast, Cameron offered him the role, as well as 10% of the movie's profits.
Burt Reynolds
Producer Albert R. Broccoli reached out to the Gunsmoke actor to see if he wanted to take over the character from Sean Connery. Reynolds turned down the part, having said, "An American can't play James Bond.
Connery was not James Bond author Ian Fleming's first choice for the role – that was Irish actor Richard Todd. Fleming wanted Todd for Dr No, the movie that introduced the iconic character to moviegoing audiences the world over.
Julius No is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1958 James Bond novel and its 1962 film adaptation Dr. No, the first of the series, in which he was portrayed by Joseph Wiseman.
While Craig noted to The Times that his line of thought "sounds massively arrogant," he called his approach to the role "a creative disruption." "I felt Bond was big and tough enough to take just about anything," he told the outlet. "If I'd ended up doing more [Bond], I really would have pushed it."
If an odds-on favorite like Tom Hardy were cast, he wouldn't be the oldest actor to play Bond at 43. That title is held by Roger Moore, who played the character from 45 to 57. Another bookie's favorite for the next Bond actor, Aaron Johnson, could become the third youngest at 32.
No great fan of the movies – Fleming only lived to see the first two, and had wanted David Niven or Roger Moore for the role – he nevertheless appreciated their influence, and is said to have in part modeled his later literary portrayal of Bond around Sean Connery's performance.
Matt Damon has revealed that he turned down 10% of the original 'Avatar' movie's profits.