While Henry Cavill’s James Bond audition has been the most viral, those from Rupert Friend, Sam Worthington and Antony Starr are also out.
While Amazon-MGM and Eon Productions stir about in their ongoing dispute as to how to proceed with the future of the James Bond franchise, we fans have virtually nothing concrete to go on. And so we go back to the past. But we’re not just rewatching our favorite 007 movies; no, we’re going even deeper than that, as we’ve been given a wealth of failed auditions that have suddenly leaked online – yes, that’s how desperate we are for James Bond casting news!
Coming at the same time as Henry Cavill’s own audition tape for James Bond – which was apparently found in a recycling bin outside of a movie studio – are three more: for Rupert Friend, Sam Worthington and Antony Starr, who were all trying out for the role left vacant by Pierce Brosnan. While the highly sought-after role of James Bond would end up going to Daniel Craig beginning with Casino Royale and concluding with 2021’s No Time to Die, it’s still fun to see these audition tapes all these years later. You can check them out below:
It’s been said numerous times that the chief reason Henry Cavill lost out on the part was that he was too young. For comparison’s sakes, these audition tapes show off a bit of a variety of potential James Bonds: Friend is only a couple years older than Cavill, while Worthington and Starr have several years on him. That would seem to at least give some sort of leg up to Worthington and Starr. However, I think I’d have to give the edge to Friend here, with both Worthington and Starr seeming a little too self-aware of what they’re auditioning for. For example, Worthington just breezes through the famous “The name’s Bond. James Bond.” line and Starr almost comes off smug when ordering a vodka martini.
It’s going to be quite some time before more James Bond hopefuls sit down for their own audition tapes, so we better get comfortable in knowing we won’t hear who will be replacing Daniel Craig anytime soon. And unfortunately, it’s not likely that there will be more leaks, so go on and rewatch Henry Cavill’s and think of what could have been…
Who do you think had the best audition for James Bond based on the recent leaks? Give us your choice in the comments section below.
