The actor who never wanted to be James Bond

Whenever an actor closes his stage by acting James Bond Speculation begins on the search for his replacement. Because they do not believe the interest of the media to bet, comment and indicate who could take the place of Daniel Craig it’s a thing of now. Although today the conversation is more interesting and frenetic due to the influence of networks in our lives and the interest in expanding the representation of 007 with a black actorthe truth is that it has always aroused curiosity ever since Sean Connery he threatened to abandon the saga every two times three. Additionally, he even announced his retirement while filming We only live twice (1967), only to return again with two more films, causing doubt to hang in the air and speculation to skyrocket.

There were many names that were close to following in his footsteps, with Roger Moore as the most famous at that time. Time has passed, the saga has expanded and several performers have taken over. However, There is an actor who participated in the shooting tests and was a favorite of the producers, but who only participated in the casting out of obligation. Because, actually, I didn’t want to have anything to do with the character.

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In the mid-80s, when it was clear that Roger Moore had already reached its quota ‘fight each other ‘ At the age of 58 and seven feature films, the conversation has regained vigor. Moore left the character and the auditions began to find the performer who would take the place in the film that would eventually be titled 007: High voltage (1987). Pierce Brosnan had been on producer Albert R. Broccoli’s radar ever since she met him on the set of for your eyes only (1981) when he accompanied his first wife, Cassandra Harris, to the set because she played Countess Lisl von Schlaf (Klast). The other candidate in the race was Timothy Dalton, but there was another one that is practically not talked about. Nothing less than Sam Neill, the star with whom he would later go to memory as the most intrepid paleontologist in cinema Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park).

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At the time, the actor born in Northern Ireland but raised in New Zealand was not yet 40, nor did he enjoy the same international recognition as his rivals. In fact, the world was just starting to notice through the third installment of The prophecy, titled The end of Damiano (1981) or the acclaimed British miniseries Reilly: ace of spies. It would have taken a few more years before Sam Neill entered our lives with blockbusters like The Hunt for Red October (1990) and, of course, Jurassic Park (1993). There are those who believe that the aforementioned series could serve as a bridge to get noticed among the producers of the Eon studios, in charge of the James Bond saga. Because basically he played a similar version, an experienced (but Russian-born) spy, womanizer, elegant and well-dressed who wouldn’t surprise me if he had anything to do with Sam Neill competing for the role with Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton.

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Even if talking about competition is exaggerated. Because he took the camera test, but decided to decline if he was offered the character. “I would never have accepted the role if they had asked me. ” the actor said Geek’s Lair during the promotion of Jurassic world domination, where he returned to play dinosaur expert Alan Grant 21 years later.

“It was the last time I was forced to audition. My agent insisted I do this, saying it would be rude otherwise. So I reluctantly went to Pinewood [los estudios a las afueras de Londres] And I did that stupid thing for a role I never wanted to play. “

And there is evidence of it. The test of her with the camera has long been available on YouTube where we see him performing a scene in front of an apparently naked woman and in bed, making the seductive introduction of her while she holds a gun. Like Sam Neill said ABC in 2019 it was “shameful” yes “one of the most mortifying moments of my life ”.