The ideal James Bond is an actor on the cusp of superstardom – as film history shows

By James Chapman, University of Leicester

More people have walked on the Moon than have played James Bond, so it’s no wonder that the suave secret agent with a licence to kill is one of the most coveted roles in cinema. The casting of a new 007 always grabs the public imagination – even now, when it’s still only a rumour that British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been offered the part.

There have been false rumours in the past. I still remember a non-story that Australian model Finlay Light had been cast as the new Bond in 1986.

Even before social media, the casting of James Bond was always a subject of public intrigue. Before Sean Connery was cast in Dr No (1962), the Daily Express ran a competition to find the public’s choice for the “ideal” Bond. The winner was model Peter Anthony, who won ahead of several other contenders, including stuntman Bob Simmons.

The often-told story that Cary Grant was “offered” the part by the producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli should be taken with a large dose of salt. Grant’s picture fee at the time was over four times Dr No’s total cast budget of £25,000.

Harry Saltzman, Broccoli’s production partner, told the press that Michael Craig and Patrick McGoohan had been considered. And the United Artists’ archive reveals that Broccoli and Saltzman saw the war picture The Valiant (1962) but reported that “Robert Shaw in this particular film did not impress any of us as being James Bond”. However, Shaw was subsequently cast as an assassin in From Russia With Love (1963).

Two myths have accumulated around Connery’s casting over the years. One is that he was an unknown when he was cast. In fact, Connery was already a well-established television actor and had meaty supporting roles in films such as Another Time, Another Place (1958) and The Frightened City (1961) before he got the call.

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