The only American actor promised the role of James Bond: “I really was up for that”
British, Irish, and Antipodean actors are fine, but the purists would blow a gasket if an American actor were ever cast as James Bond. While there are plenty of stars from the United States who’ve mastered the local accent, the mere mention of a Stateside-born 007 is enough to make many people’s blood boil.
Technically, the first actor to embody the iconic secret agent was American, which tends to go unmentioned. California native Barry Nelson played Bond in the 1954 television adaptation of Casino Royale, which remains the one and only time an actor from outside the borders mentioned above has been given a shot.
Scotsman Sean Connery, Englishmen Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig, Irishman Pierce Brosnan, and Australian George Lazenby have suited up for official entries in the long-running movie franchise, and there’s no shortage of American performers who’ve either auditioned or been offered the gig.
Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds turned down the opportunity because they knew audiences didn’t want to see a US-bred 007, and it’s not like either of those two can do accents to cover up their origins. Despite the common misconception that he’s Australian, Mel Gibson is another American star who declined the opportunity to assume the mantle, while the first choice to be the first Bond was Cary Grant.
However, one did slip through the cracks and was promised the role. When Roger Moore’s contract ran out following For Your Eyes Only, Cubby Broccoli was on the hunt for his next suave super spy. Following a successful screen test, he told James Brolin the role was as good as his, and he even bought a house in London so he had somewhere to live between the shoots of what was meant to be multiple films.
“I literally left Cubby Broccoli in London, came home to get all my stuff to live in England for a year, when Roger Moore said, ‘Oh, I’ll do one more!'” Brolin told The Express. “I got the job and Cubby took me to his clubs and I thought, ‘This is the life here in London!’ Just that was terrific, whether I got it or not. This business is a crapshoot and a bit of luck anyway.”
Moore was always the producer’s first choice, and when it was announced that Connery would be returning as a rival 007 in the unofficial Never Say Never Again, Broccoli pushed the boat out and convinced him to sign a new deal to ensure he didn’t have to pitch audiences a new Bond in a movie set to release the same year the original made his own surprise comeback.
“I was really up for that,” Brolin admitted, with the role having been ripped out of his hands after being promised to him. In fairness, it was probably the right call. There would have been backlash to an American playing Bond for the first time, and with Connery’s shadow looming over Octopussy, playing it safe and forking out the cash to secure Moore was the smartest play.
