14 replies to this topic

[Victor Zokas]

I finally got round to looking at the Inside TLD doc on the DVD, and it seeme to be saying that Pierece wasn't the first choice for TLD. I always thought he was.

It seems that Tim was first up but was busy with theatre and movie work - Brenda Starr. Then Pierce got the nod, until Remington Steele came back to thwart him. By then Dalton was free when they went back to him.

Has anyone heard or read anything about this? It's often gets said that Pierce missed out, but if this is right then it was Tim who missed out first off.

[Hardyboy]

Victor Zokas (15 May, 2002 12:40 p.m.):
Hardyboy - I'm not with you. Are you saying Brosnan was first choice, but didn't get an official offer? I recently heard that Dalton was being considered first, and got an offer, which went nowhere as he was still working on Brenda Starr. Then they offered it to Pierce, but Steele forced him out. By then Dalton had finished on Brenda Starr and could accept. I haven't read John Glen's autobiography yet, so you may have better information on this.

Victor, Glen doesn't specifically mention this--he does, however, say that there was no one particular actor being considered at the time Moore announced he was leaving--but I have heard variations on this. . .one of them that Dalton was committed to performing in "Anthony and Cleopatra" with Vanessa Redgrave, and that it was this and not "Brenda Starr" that kept him from committing to the part. The truth is an elusive thing. And, yes, indeed, it was the "Remington Steele" thing that kept Cubby from hiring Brosnan--he didn't believe that anyone would pay to see an actor they could see on TV every week for free.

[ThomasCrown76]

Sam Neil would have been a good Bond.

[DJ]

Xenobia (27 Apr, 2002 12:00 a.m.):
Everything said here is true....and yes, this Xenobia reluctantly admitting that TD got the nob for TLD first.

Oi Oi!!!

[m_man23]

Tim was the first man offered for the role of Bond in TLD. Pierce was offered after Tim turned it down but he also had to turn it down. Then Tim was free so the role was his. In 1986 Pierce was again offered the role but had to turn it down when RS did part of a fifth deason. In 1995, after Dalton resigned PB got the role and ever since he has been Bond!

[Xenobia]

Everything said here is true....and yes, this Xenobia reluctantly admitting that TD got the nob for TLD first.

What I thought was terribly ironic is "Brenda Starr" sat in some film vault for about six or seven years. I don't believe anyone saw the film until 1994, the earliest, and when it came out it was a critical and box office bomb, because he had been out of circulation for so long.

-- Xenobia

[General Koskov]

Tim also passed on the chance to be Bond in 1972 because he was 'too young'. At least Brosnan got a 'nod' (there's that word again!) in GoldenEye for his almost getting the role in 1986.

[Turn]

Hardyboy (15 May, 2002 06:13 p.m.):
And, yes, indeed, it was the "Remington Steele" thing that kept Cubby from hiring Brosnan--he didn't believe that anyone would pay to see an actor they could see on TV every week for free.

You know what's weird about that? When Moore was hired, the Persuaders was either still on or just getting ready to leave network television and The Saint was widely syndicated all over the place. Then again, I think it was Harry Saltzman who suggested Moore to be Bond. It just makes you wonder.

[Blofeld's Cat]

007Forever has a section on actors and singers who almost did in all the Bond movies.

There's a couple of entries regarding possible Bonds for The Living Daylights.

[WillieGarvin]

let's not forget that Cubby Broccoli wanted Timothy Dalton to play James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969.

As Dalton explained,he felt that at age 26, he was much too young for the role,adding that Bond should be played by an older man-someone in his mid-30s to early 40s.Additionally,Tim also thought that following after Sean Connery--at that time the most popular actor in the world,along with being the _definitive_ 007--would be career suicide.He was absolutely right--look at the harsh criticism George Lazenby received...

[Hardyboy]

According to John Glen's autobiography, they tested several actors before they got around to Pierce Brosnan--three Australians: Finlay Light, Andrew Clarke, and Sam Neill; an Englishman, Trevor Eve, and some actors Glen doesn't name. Glen says he's the one who suggested Brosnan and Cubby Broccoli didn't like the idea. However, after a screentest, both Broccoli and MGM/UA were impressed enough to pretty well SAY he had the part--but it wasn't officially OFFERED to him. Once Pierce Brosnan was dumped, the producers did indeed offer the part to Dalton. So the answer to the question is. . .the first actor actually OFFERED the part of Bond in TLD is none other than Mr. Dalton.

[Turn]

This one could go on for a while.

I remember reading at the time there were several people whose names were bandied about, including several models, Mel Gibson, Bryan Brown and the guy who was on a TV series called Cover-Up. Then, as the DVD documentary says, Sam Neil was a serious contender, except Cubby didn't think he was right. Where did he fit in?

[General Koskov]

I heard somewhere that the screen test they use is the Tatiana/Bond seduction scene from From Russia With Love. Though Lazenby had a fight in his screen test. Was he trying to seduce Yuri Borienko?

[Victor Zokas]

Hardyboy - I'm not with you. Are you saying Brosnan was first choice, but didn't get an official offer? I recently heard that Dalton was being considered first, and got an offer, which went nowhere as he was still working on Brenda Starr. Then they offered it to Pierce, but Steele forced him out. By then Dalton had finished on Brenda Starr and could accept. I haven't read John Glen's autobiography yet, so you may have better information on this.

I always thought Trevor Eve was an actor really suited to the Bond series. But I never heard he was up for Bond himself. He still would make a fine addition to any future Bond cast.

[freemo]

I thought once RS was still going ahead, Cubby didn't want Broz because he didn't think people would "pay money to see someone they could watch on TV every week".