We have just learned that in 1986, Sam Neil auditioned to play Agent 007. At the time, the actor was popular thanks to his performance as Damian Thorne in Omen III: the Final Conflic, not to mention his Golden Globe nomination for the mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies, in which he played Sidney Reilly, the Russian adventurer turned British spy who was the source of inspiration for Ian Fleming to create the James Bond character.
Sam Neil in the James Bond shortlist in 1986
In 1986, following Roger Moore's wish not to continue after A View to a Kill (Dangerously Yours), the production began looking for a new Bond. Among the 1,986 candidates, three are shortlisted as serious replacements: Sam Neill, 39, Pierce Brosnan, 33, and Timothy Dalton, 41. Problem, producer Albert Broccoli is not a client of the actor and disqualifies him from entry. Pierce Brosnan is rejected because of his contract which prevents him from leaving the series Remington Steele. Dalton was finally chosen to be the new Bond in The Living Daylights (Killing is not Playing) in 1987. But Pierce Brosnan did not miss the boat in 1995 with Goldeneye.
For him, the best future James Bonds would be...
And Sam Neil in all this? The video of his audition for the role of Bond recently leaked online. Since then, the actor has often been questioned on the subject, saying that he never really wanted to play Bond. However, in a recent interview with the Telegraph, he said: "It's quite tiring that with a long career like mine, people keep asking me questions about my Bond audition over and over again. I can say today that I am very happy not to be an ex-Bond and that I even have some recommendations to make on the subject. First up is Australian actor Robert Collins (left below, Cleverman, The Drover's Wife). He is a native actor, extremely handsome and really good. He would shake things up a bit.†He also indicated who he would like to see, Scottish actor Jack Lowden (right below), who already plays a British spy in the series Slow Horses, take over from Daniel Craig. Two choices that have the merit of standing out from the crowd.