"This never happened to the other fella"
Casino Royale director Martin Campbell has revealed that he tested eight actors to replace the dumped Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.
"Don't ask me who they were; I'm not going to tell you", he recently declared. "You don't often see the tests. They keep those under lock and key".
We know that one was Henry Cavill. The Brit revealed that Martin told him that he looked a "little chubby" during the audition. We also know that one was Daniel Craig — obz. Now, we know that the third was Aussie actor Sam Worthington.
"I held off and held off doing the audition because I couldn't find a way into the character", Sam said. "And when I finally did, I went for it. I got a half a day of acting with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell. I got to do some scenes with some great actors, gave it my all, and it wasn't right for me."
"I wasn't gutted at the time, man. It didn't bother me in the slightest because you can learn from it and go: 'Do you know what? I wouldn't want to see a James Bond movie with me in it anyway'.
"The last time there was an Australian as James Bond, it was George Lazenby, and he f*cked it up. I don't want to be the new f*cking George Lazenby".
Whether George" f*cked it up" is arguable. His sole Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, is widely regarded among the Bond fanbase as one of, if not the best Bond film. Daniel Craig is also a fan — hence the many references to the 1969 film in 2021's No Time To Die.
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Joe Emery
Joe is Editor of For Bond Fans Only and a writer by trade. When he's not watching Bond, he can be found listening to The Beatles and worrying about West Ham. You can find him on Twitter @joeemerywrites