(Credits: Amazon/MGM)
Thu 30 October 2025 19:15, UK
Obviously, the list of actors who’ve turned down the chance to play James Bond is exponentially longer than the list of names who agreed to suit up and save the world, and a couple of those stars who played 007 had already knocked back the opportunity before finally relenting.
Roger Moore was initially sought out in 1967 when Sean Connery had vacated the role after You Only Live Twice, but his commitments to The Saint forced him to politely decline, and he’d have to wait for George Lazenby’s disastrous stint and Connery’s one-time comeback to end before he got his chance.
Timothy Dalton could have been the original Bond’s replacement, too, but since he was only 21 years old when Cubby Broccoli came calling ahead of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, he thought he was too young. He’d have to wait even longer than Moore, with his debut in The Living Daylights releasing in the summer of 1987, when the actor was 41.
Pierce Brosnan should have been 007 long before he was, with Remington Steele ruling him out of the running, although he remained the first choice once Dalton’s two-film stint wrapped up. An eclectic mix of actors have passed on the coveted part, including Hugh Jackman, Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, and Liam Neeson, with James Brolin even being hired before the offer was rescinded.
There are also dozens upon dozens of names who’ve auditioned and screen-tested, many of whom went on to enjoy successful careers years after their trial, but Clive Owen seemed convinced that he was the only person who was repeatedly handed the reins to the 007 franchise on a silver platter, only to bat it away each and every time.
“Playing James Bond would have been like entering a golden prison, and I doubt that would have suited me,” he explained to Glamour. “I may be the only actor who consistently said, ‘No, no, and no’. I never understood what I would have been able to add to the role, or how I could play a character who has already been defined in the past. For me, Sean Connery is the real James Bond.”
Presumably, he was the guy the producers wanted for Casino Royale, since he hadn’t made a name for himself when GoldenEye was in development in the mid-1990s. He only had a couple of small-scale movies, a smattering of television appearances, and a handful of theatre roles under his belt at the time, and the four-year gap between Die Another Day and Daniel Craig’s debut gave him plenty of time to reiterate his lack of interest.
When Owen was first being bandied around, speculation suggested that money had been the deciding factor, with the actor allegedly demanding a percentage of the profits that Eon Productions was unwilling to give him. That’s not the way he tells it, though, since he made it pretty clear that he believed donning the tux could have been massively detrimental to his career, even if it would have brought him plenty of fame and fortune.
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