We were nearly robbed of the Lazneby era…

PublishedNovember 19, 2025 8:50 PM EST•UpdatedNovember 19, 2025 8:24 PM EST

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There are certain things that people like that let you know when they grew up. 

Like their favorite SNL casts. If they’re all about Chevy Chase, John Belushi, and Gilda Radner, they grew up in the ’70s. If they enjoyed the Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, and Bill Hader era, they went to high school in the late aughts/early-2010s (like I did).

James Bond actors are like this. You usually like the one who starred in the movies you grew up on. 

However, you, late 1960s Bond fans, were nearly robbed of the beloved Lazenby era, because it turns out the role was offered to another Hollywood icon: Dick Van Dyke.

READ: DICK VAN DYKE NEARS 100, CRACKS HILARIOUS JOKE ABOUT MAKING IT TO HIS BIRTHDAY

The legendary actor is making the rounds as he closes in on his 100th birthday, and this week, during an appearance on Today, he was asked about how close he came to playing 007.

“Is it true you could have almost become James Bond?” Today weatherman and guy who shat his pants in the White House (look it up) Al Roker asked.

“I almost did,” Van Dyke said.

Dick Van Dyke revealed that back in the 1960s he was asked to play James Bond. (Getty Images)

It turns out that when Sean Connery stepped away from the Bond role after 1967’s You Only Live Twice, Van Dyke was on the list of potential replacements.

Which sounds strange at first, but when you think about it for a second, it kind of makes sense. Plus, Van Dyke was also a huge star at the time.

But there was one thing keeping him from taking the job.

READ: AMAZON REMOVES GUNS FROM JAMES BOND POSTER, PUTS IT BACK AFTER MASS OUTCRY

“[Producer] Albert Broccoli came to me and said, ‘Would you like to be Bond?’ And I said, ‘Have you heard my British accent?’ Click!” Van Dyke said, per People.

Oh yeah, that could’ve been a problem.

That cockney accent he used (kind of) worked for Burt in Mary Poppins, but probably wouldn’t have shaken the proverbial martini for Bond.

So, Broccoli went with a model who had no acting experience in George Lazenby, and after one film, Connery was back to being Bond.