Over the years, numerous actors have taken on the role of 007, with the original actor remaining a favorite among many fans. Despite this, Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond character, initially questioned Sean Connery’s casting.
According to IndieWire, Nicholas Shakespeare’s upcoming biography on Fleming, titled “Ian Fleming: The Complete Man,” reveals new details about the franchise’s history. The book delves into the casting process for the first James Bond, tracing back to the mid-1950s when several actors were considered. Fleming had a few names in mind, suggesting Richard Burton would be “by far the best James Bond.”
Fleming also considered James Stewart, provided he could “slightly anglicize his accent,” and James Mason, noting they “might have to settle for him.” Many other actors were also considered, including Roger Moore—who would eventually portray Bond years later—along with Peter Finch, Cary Grant, Dirk Bogarde, Trevor Howard, Rex Harrison, Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Patrick McGoohan, and Richard Johnson.
“We tried twenty or thirty. No major actor would play the part for more than one picture, and we couldn’t set up a deal with a distributor without commitment from a main actor,” said Fleming’s agent, Robert Fenn. When Fleming first met Connery, he was reportedly “shocked because he couldn’t speak the Queen’s English.” Fenn added, “Fleming said, ‘He’s not my idea of Bond at all, I just want an elegant man, not this roughneck.'”
