The actor bullied into auditioning for James Bond against their will: “It was excruciating”
Every time the role becomes available, there’s never a shortage of actors willing to throw their hat into the ring to play James Bond. However, one star didn’t want to play the character and couldn’t have cared less about auditioning, only for their agents to have a different perspective.
It might be one of the most iconic gigs in the industry, but that doesn’t mean everyone wants to do it. Countless performers have been approached about embodying 007 and turned it down, an eclectic array of names that includes Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, and Rupert Friend.
Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were both in the running years before they were eventually cast, too, so it’s not a one-time thing either. For the last six decades, it’s been clear that Bond can eventually circle back around to those who flunk their first test, even if the bare minimum required for anyone brave enough to step into the tux is that they actually want the job.
Sam Neill didn’t become an internationally renowned star until after Jurassic Park, one of the perks that comes with being billed first in what was the highest-grossing release in cinema history at the time, but he’d been working diligently across the stage, film, and television since the mid-1970s.
Once Roger Moore had finally vacated Bond at least a couple of movies too late with 1985’s A View to a Kill, the hunt was on for the next incumbent. Dalton would eventually get the nod and begin his brief two-film stint with The Living Daylights, allowing Neill to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Reflecting on his short-lived and completely unwanted flirtation with the Bond franchise, the actor claimed he was “bullied” into it by his representatives. While it was understandable that they wanted their client to audition for such an iconic character, they didn’t care that he wasn’t interested: “Darling, you’re going to Pinewood and that’s it,” he was told.
“And so I found myself auditioning for a part that I never really wanted to do because no one wants to be the James Bond nobody likes,” Neill reasoned. “That’s an unenviable position.” Beyond that, he had another reason to phone in his screentest; he had high hopes that a buddy of his would get the nod.
“My friend Pierce Brosnan really wanted the part,” he explained. “I wanted Pierce to do it. So I did this ridiculous audition, and it was excruciating.” Ironically, the part was ready to be handed to Brosnan until his TV series Remington Steele was renewed for a final season, with scheduling conflicts ruling him out.
It might have been a miserable day at the office for Neill, but because nothing is ever really lost in the internet age, his audition is available for anyone to see whenever they want.
