It was very sad to hear about the passing of screen legend Sam Neill this month. I’m a huge fan of many of his movies, and I’m also a huge fan of the James Bond franchise, but it wasn't until I read a story after his death that I learned he'd auditioned for the role of 007 back in the 1980s. The audition came after Roger Moore left the role after A View To A Kill. He even did a screen test in a scene from what would become.
Now, I’m a fan of the underrated Dalton era of Bond. I think the Welsh actor was given too short a leash, being replaced by Pierce Brosnan after just two movies, but I would have loved to see Neill in the role, and I think we missed out.
Neill Auditions Before Dalton Got The Role
Over the years, eight men have played James Bond, and after the Roger Moore-era ended with A View To A Kill, it was time for producer Cubby Broccoli and the rest of the production team to find the first new Bond in over a decade. Broccoli really wanted Pierce Brosnan to take over the role and offered the part to the actor who would eventually become Bond in the mid-’90. Unfortunately, he was tied up with his TV show, Remington Steele, and they couldn’t make it work. That meant a big search for who would replace Moore.
One of the actors who auditioned and screen-tested was Neill. At the time, before Jurassic Park and The Hunt for Red October, Neill was still somewhat unknown to much of the movie-going public. However, after watching his screen-test (and loving both of those movies), I can’t help but wonder, “What if?” Would Neill have been a popular Bond? Would it have meant we’d have missed out on those roles in Jurassic Park and Red October? It’s impossible to know for sure, but in a perfect world, maybe we get it all.
I’ve Never Been A Fan Of The Brosnan Movies
If I’m totally honest, the Brosnan-era of James Bond has long been my least favorite. It’s not that I think Brosnan is bad in the role, but the movies are just so cheesy. They all have that ‘90s sheen of slickness that is really off-putting. For me, they are the most dated-looking of all the Bond movies, and that’s saying something for a franchise that is over 60 years old. However, I think the two Dalton movies are by far the most underrated of all the Bond movies.
So, while I wouldn’t want to live in an alternate timeline without a Dalton Bond, I wouldn’t mind seeing what could have happened with Neill in the role over Brosnan. Interestingly, though, Neill himself said that he didn’t want the role, at least in part because Brosnan was gunning for it. Quite the conundrum. Personally, though, I think we missed out on something pretty cool.
We still don’t know who will be the next 007 in the yet-unnamed James Bond 27. As it was before The Living Daylights, there are tons of rumors about who the next actor to drink martinis and flash his Walther PPK handgun will be. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the updates!
