Maybe actorMatthew Rhyswould have a very different movie career today if he hadn’t tried to be funny when auditioning for James Bond. After going on to star in the drama seriesBrothers & Sisters, Rhys more recently won an Emmy for his performance in the spy showThe Americans. He also starred in the Fred Rogers biopicA Beautiful Day in the Neighborhoodand can be seen as the titular attorney in HBO’sPerry Mason.
As it were, things could have been different before all of this success, as Rhys had the chance to score the coveted role ofJames Bondin the 2006 filmCasino Royale. In a new interview withThe Times, Rhys reflects on auditioning for the role, and as he reveals, it didn’t go so well. The actor recalls heading to the 007 producers' offices in London dressed for the part to read for the role, but as he goes on to explain, he blew the whole thing by cracking some jokes that clearly didn’t land. He remembers:
“Very intimidating. We were just told to wear a dark suit and readCasino Royale.”
Upon arrival, Rhys, along with the other Bond hopefuls, had been asked what he would do differently with his take on 007. The actor admits he wasn’t prepared for that question, and because he wasn’t quite sure what the producers wanted, he responded with some joke suggestions that failed to elicit any laughs.
“I just remember going, ‘Ah.’ I was so not anticipating that question. And then I was like, is it a trick question? Are they waiting for people to go, ‘I wouldn’t do anything. He’s perfect’? [I didn’t want to say] ‘Oh, it’s been a bit one-note for a few decades, hasn’t it? I think we can drop the misogynistic jokes.’ I’d give him a limp. I said, ‘Limp?’ Nothing. ‘Eye patch?’ Nothing.”
Related:Liam Neeson Reflects on Turning Down James Bond
Who Will Be the Next Jim Bond?
We can only speculate for now who will next get the role after Daniel Craig ended his run withNo Time to Die. A variety of names have popped up in the rumor mill, some of which have been popular picks with fans. Thatincludes names like Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. With that said, no one has yet been officially cast and it is still unclear when the next 007 will be announced. Franchise casting director Debbie McWilliams has teased (perCollider) that it will probably be a fairly unknown actor who gets cast, as that’s been the tradition. As McWilliams explains:
“Timothy Dalton was known, but he was known as a Shakespearean actor, really. Pierce [Brosnan] was known, but that was basically from television. Roger Moore was known from television. Sean Connery wasn’t [known] – nobody had ever heard of him. A certain audience had heard of Daniel Craig, but much more the kind of independent cinema audience. He hadn’t done any huge commercial film at all, really – [2004 film] Layer Cake I suppose was the most popular, should we say, of the things he had done prior to Bond, but he wasn’t a hugely well-known actor.”
Perhaps the next 007 will be someone nobody has even thought of. Looks like we’ll just have to wait and see.
