Now this might have been bigger news at the time in the seventies, but it’s an interesting retrospective thought. Burt Reynolds as James Bond. I actually think that back in the day that could have worked…and actually if they were to do an old Bond movie, then I reckon he could still pull it off. From IMDB:
Late James Bond producer Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli offered Reynolds the chance to follow Sir Sean Connery as the slick sleuth, but the actor rejected the opportunity – an action he has lived to regret ever since. He says, “Sean Connery had said he wanted more money and left and (Cubby Broccoli) came to visit me and said, ‘We want you to play James Bond.’ “And I said, in my infinite wisdom, ‘An American can’t play James Bond. It just can’t be done.’ “Now, in the middle of the night, you hear me wake up in this cold sweat going, ‘Bond, James Bond.'”
I’ve gone on record as saying Bond can’t be American, and I still stick with that. There’s something that the British portrayal of him brings through on screen, whether it be the wit, sarcasm or style, it’s a tangible factor because he’s British, and indeed English.
However, I can definitely see that all the other qualities are there with Reynolds, and were there. It would have been an interesting turn to take if that early on in the franchise they had cast an American. Would that mean by now I was used to an American playing the role? Do you think Reynolds could have carried it off?
