When Rupert Friend turned down the chance to play James Bond out of fear: “I felt like the part was bigger than me”
You don’t need to have seen a James Bond movie to know key facts about the franchise – everyone knows he’s 007 and can recognise the theme song anywhere. With each film we get a new song from a popular artist, too, with recent years seeing Adele and Billie Eilish win major awards for their contributions to Bond’s musical canon. To put it simply – the James Bond franchise is more than just some movies, it’s an intrinsic part of British culture and iconography.
Being asked to play Bond is perhaps one of the highest honours bestowed upon an actor. Many dream of playing the iconic 007 agent, but only a handful of men have actually brought the character to life. Yet, with each announcement that a new Bond will be taking over the reins, speculation becomes rife as people discuss who has the right talent, looks, and experience to play the part.
Many actors are shortlisted to play the character, but some have actually rejected the offer to lead several Bond movies. It might seem mad to turn down the chance to appear in one of the biggest franchises of all time, but for some actors, the commitment is just too intense. After all, playing Bond would propel you to the highest of heights, and if you don’t think you’ve got it in you to do the character justice, then there’s going to be a lot of anxiety involved.
In the 2000s, an up-and-coming British actor was approached to play Bond, but in his early 20s and daunted by the prospect of leading such a huge franchise, he turned the offer down. In an interview with Variety, it was Rupert Friend that shared this intriguing information, revealing that he was approached to play 007 in an unusual take on the series.
The actor shared, “I was told, ‘We’d love to talk to you about playing James Bond but rebooting the series. We want to do him basically straight out of college.’ And I met Barbara Broccoli, and her brother Michael and Debbie McWilliams, the casting director for Bond. Obviously, I’ve watched them growing up and just love all the actors and all the movies. Basically, they said: you’ll do a screen test, and if it goes well, you’re signed up for three pictures which you won’t read, and you won’t know who the director is. You’re basically handcuffed to it.”
Friend, who has since gone on to appear in many successful projects like Homeland, Asteroid City, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, wasn’t sure he was ready to commit. He admitted, “And I suddenly was like, ‘I just feel at this point in my life and career, I’m too young, I don’t have the experience, I don’t have the acting chops, and I don’t have any of the hard knocks — emotionally, psychologically, physically — that a great Bond should have. So I’m gonna politely decline.’ That was probably a bit of an eyebrow raise for them.”
The actor might not have reached Bond levels of fame, but he has appeared in countless acclaimed shows and movies in the years following his decision to turn down the franchise.
