Related
Quite a few actors have put on a black tie over the years to spiel English spyJames Bond , and James Brolin was almost one of them . He try out and won the role when producers were look to replace Roger Moore , who played with the idea of leaving Bond behind . Brolin would ’ve been the only American to have ever pick out on the function of 007 , but a feud between the franchise ’s producers and the studio apartment kept it from happening .
Roger Moore began his run asJames Bondin 1973 withLive And lease kick the bucket . He would go on to star in seven of the movies in total , but after shooting five of them , he tried to walk away from the role for the first time . He was look for other opportunities outside of the pigeonhole he found himself in as 007 . It ’s interesting to note that Sean Connery , the first role player to make for Bond , also walk away and was replaced after five films ( only to return twice more ) . Moore planned his departure afterFor Your Eyes Only , so Brolin was invited to audition as Bond for the next film , Octopussy . And he actually landed the part .
touch on : Casino Royale Broke a James Bond Aston Martin Tradition
Tall and advanced , Brolin was a successful leading man who had antecedently been inWestworldandThe Amityville Horror . His want of an English speech pattern did n’t seem to be a concern for anyone , as you could see in the two screen tests ( below ) . In the first , Brolin shows off his fighting artistry against an interloper . In the second , he romances a woman while wearing only a towel . These , of course of study , are the two skills that any actor to play James Bond has to have in spades .
Brolin was all go down to move to London to begin filming when Moore changed his mind and domesticate James Bond as his own . It came at a time when a varlet James Bond moving picture ( that is , one not made by Eon Studios , which had produced all of the Bond films ) was being produced . The film right wing to Ian Fleming ’s bookThunderballbelonged to manufacturer Kevin McClory , and he convinced Sean Connery to arrive back as 007 in a remake(Thunderballhad antecedently been adapt to film in 1965 ) . The remaking was the motion picture now cognize asNever Say Never Again , and it was set to be released the same year asOctopussy . Eon Studios did n’t want to risk enclose a newfangled doer as James Bond up against Connery , so Moore was woo back , and Brolin was leave in the dust .
He bounced back , though , and even mocked his would - be 007 condition inPee Wee ’s Big Adventure . And so , the dreaming of having an American playJames Bondwas thwarted . The screen tests from his audition prove that Brolin was more than capable to play the spy . He had the looks , the demeanor , and the animalism to be a convincing Bond . He was also a decade younger than Moore , who was in his mid-50s whenOctopussycame out - and it point . It ’s inauspicious that the need to compete against a rival Bond film strip away the chance for fans to see what Brolin ’s take onJames Bondwould’ve been like .
Next : Why Christian Bale Turned Down Playing James Bond
