Posted on 02/10/2024 5:51:47 PM PST by nickcarraway
There are few roles in Hollywood more coveted than 007. Since the character of James Bond was first adapted to film in the 1960s, it has been taken on by six separate actors, each of them donning suits and a smirk to embody the man Ian Fleming created. Each time an actor announces their departure from the role, audiences speculate and actors hope that it might be their turn, but not Michael Caine.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that Caine was once considered for the role. The man is a certified national treasure, the consistency of his Cockney accent and commanding presence on screen endearing him to audiences and critics alike. He’s accepted Academy Awards and a knighthood, but he once rejected the chance to take on the role of the suave spy.
In 1962, Sean Connery became the first actor to take on the weight of the Bond name, starring in Dr. No and four films that followed. He finished up his time with the character in 1967 with You Only Live Twice, at which point the franchise looked to replace him with a similarly formidable leading British actor. And who better than Michael Caine?
Unfortunately for the casting directors and for those who would have enjoyed hearing Caine’s Cockney delivery of the words, “Shaken, not stirred”, the retired actor was not interested in suiting up for the role. He later explained one of his reasons for not considering it, suggesting that he didn’t possess the glitz and glamour required to embody the spy.
“I was always much more ordinary,” he explained, via Express, “Bond was a glamorous, imaginative creation. I’ve always played real people.” Caine himself certainly isn’t ordinary anymore, but his presence on-screen has often tended towards grit rather than glamour, from The Man Who Would Be King to Children of Men.
Caine certainly has the capability to embody more imaginative creations. He took on the role of Batman’s beloved butler, Alfred, in Christopher Nolan’s take on the character and even played a spy Harry Palmer in a series of films released alongside the James Bond franchise. Still, there seems to be a more grounded nature to even these characters, and perhaps the latter had already sated Caine’s taste for on-screen spying.
Between his distaste for glamour, his pre-existing spy role, and his friendship with Connery, Caine never took on the title of 007. Still, it’s fun to imagine what he might have brought to the character had he entertained the idea.
Sean Connery is James Bond, though I detest the politics of both Connery and Caine.
Sean Connery died awhile ago. Didn’t you know?
James Bond isn't allowed to be himself anymore.
A woke version of 007? No thanks.
The best was when Michael Caine wasn’t present to collect his Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters because he was filming Jaws:The Revenge.
Speaking in the context of the article, comparing Connery to Caine.
“Durned Down the Role of James Bond”
Durn it.
Jane Bond will be played by a black lesbian out to fight Climate Change and systemic racism in older white males.
Wee gots noe editurs.
I guess he figured ‘durned if he did, durned if he didn’t’
I never knew their politics
Durned if you do, durned if you don’t.
I think George Lazenby did a fine job stepping into the role following Connery which was daunting to say the least with all the pressure from the press. It’s a shame his agent talked him out of signing a 7 film contract telling Lazenby that OO7 was a thing of the past.
He didn’t think he’d be any good playing 007, but he was outstanding as Harry Palmer.
I remember watching one of Caine’s earlier films as Lt. Gonville Bromhead in the 1964 movie Zulu.
The primitive savage Zulu nose pickers may have lost the battle at Rorke’s Drift, but they now run the US federal government. /spit
Michael Caine was close to the character called
“The Equalizer” on TV from 1985 to ‘89, played by Edward Woodward.
Sean Connery was close to the character in
“The Rockford Files” on TV from 1974 to ‘80, played by
James Garner.
The name is Bond. James Bond. He/him.
Nobody could portray the swagger and macho personna on screen like Connery could during his prime. He made the series what it achieved. It is said North by Northwest movie was the pre-curser to the 007 character.
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