“Outlander” star Sam Heughan has confirmed in his new memoir that he was considered for the role of James Bond years ago – auditioning for the part before Daniel Craig was cast in “Casino Royale”.
As revealed by EW, the actor says the process was “cloaked in so much secrecy” and he “felt like a real-life agent” participating in the process which was “quite an experience”. Ultimately the timing wasn’t right, Heughan saying:
“It was a stage in my life where I probably wasn’t ready for it. But I wonder what would have happened if I had got it. It was so hush-hush that nobody ever confirmed that I was being considered for the main role, but I knew.”
After auditioning, Heughan said he met with producer Barbara Broccoli who was “like M, sitting in a leather chair across a large table. A replica gold revolver served as a centerpiece in front of her.”
“Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell was also on hand for a scene reading in the office. He had nothing but praise for Broccoli, saying she was “charming and delightful”. The role ultimately went to Craig and Heughan says:
“The feedback I received boiled down to the fact that I wasn’t edgy enough by nature. I’m always keen to take on criticism so I can improve as an actor, but the suggestion seemed to be that I lacked this quality in my real character.
I could not see what bearing that would have on playing the role, but it was out of my hands, and meant to be….It wasn’t a question of becoming a bad boy. I realized that the edge the Bond team sought could be achieved through self-confidence, which to be fair I was certainly lacking at the time.”
At 42 years old now, the actor has been aged out of the running to take on the role with the producers indicating Craig’s replacement will almost certainly be someone in their early 30s at this point in time.
