The iconic 2006 role David Tennant had no idea he was in the running for: “You were on the list”
Since most actors would gladly throw their hat into the ring to play an iconic role when it becomes available, you’d assume they’d be made aware of their presence on the shortlist. And yet, David Tennant was completely blindsided by the news, which he didn’t find out until years later.
Of course, the star already has one legendary character to his name after playing Doctor Who, and it’s highly unlikely he would have been hired for the other one when there’s been absolutely no evidence whatsoever across his career that he’d be any good at it, but that didn’t make him any less shocked.
On the other hand, since he was experienced without being too famous, British, and in his early 30s at the time, perhaps it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise that his name was being floated around behind closed doors once Pierce Brosnan had officially exited the role of James Bond after Die Another Day.
To make things even stranger, he never auditioned for 007, he never showed any public interest in slipping into the secret agent’s signature tux, and he was a million miles away from even getting into a room and running through lines with the producers. Despite that, he was told he had at least a slim chance of getting the nod, had anyone bothered their arse to let him know.
When asked if Bond had ever crossed his mind or if he’d ever been contacted by Eon Productions, Tennant explained, “No, I never believed I had, until I worked with a director recently who had worked with the Broccolis, who said, ‘Yeah, you were on the list that time.'”
“I went, ‘What time?'” the star continued. “He went, ‘The Last time’. I suppose he meant Daniel Craig, because before that, I’d have been a child. I think it was a long list, and I don’t think I was ever near the top of it, but apparently so.” He’d be a shite James Bond, in fairness, but it seems odd that he’d be on the list and not find out that he was on the list until years later.
What we do know is that a cavalcade of actors did get further than Tennant and actually auditioned, many of whom would go on to become famous faces in their own right, with Henry Cavill, Avatar‘s Sam Worthington, The Boys‘ Antony Starr, and Matthew Rhys all getting the call, while Rupert Friend and Clive Owen both turned it down.
When Daniel Craig was eventually chosen as Brosnan’s successor, people lost their shit because he had blonde hair, which is every bit as stupid as it sounds. Five films later, and a lot of Bond fans would rank him near the top when it comes to the best portrayals of the character, making a mockery of backlash that was stupid to begin with.
No offence to Tennant, but it didn’t really matter that he missed the boat by remaining uninformed. As good as he’s been in as many different movies and TV shows as he’s been in, he’s never shown anything to suggest that he’d be anything other than a terrible 007.
