A video has appeared online showing Henry Cavill’s audition for the role of James Bond back in 2005.
When Pierce Brosnan’s time in the role came to an end after Die Another Day, the producers made it known they were looking to skew younger for a Bond back at the beginning of his OO-career. The choice eventually came down to three actors. Daniel Craig (aged 37 at the time), Henry Cavill (just 22), and a third actor.
Many reports claim the third actor was Sam Worthington. Those really in the know say it was Alex O’Loughlin (then aged around 30).
Casino Royale director Martin Campbell favored Cavill, but at 22 it was felt he was just too young. Bond already had a career in the Royal Navy, including time in naval intelligence, before he joined MI6 and then worked his way up to a coveted OO role. At 22, he would be barely out of university.
They went with Craig, and he delivered arguably the most Fleming-esque and book-accurate character portrayal of the franchise.
The audition sees Cavill delivering lines from the meeting at the casino with Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye. for the first time. It is spreading online quickly and has re-started the discussion about Cavill as James Bond.
With producers again said to be looking younger, at actors who can commit more than a decade to the role, then at 41 years old Cavill could be too old. The oldest Bond debutant was Roger Moore at 45. That was back when they made a movie every two years. Now, it would be at least another two years before a new movie was in theaters even if they started the process tomorrow.
Regardless of age, he is many fans top choice and he has kept himself in good shape. These days, 45 is the new 35 anyway. Here is the tape:
The franchise is currently in limbo as a reported clash of ideas is happening between new MGM owners Amazon, and Eon Productions.
Amazon view Bond as “content” and want to modernize, while Eon view Bond as a cinematic event and beleive that changing too much destroys it. The final creative say is with Eon, but the distribution rights and most of the money sits with Amazon.
So the question is, why has this tape surfaced now? A rumor out there is that somebody at Eon leaked it to generate exactly this buzz, and to show Amazon that the appetite is still very much for a white, straight, male 007. Maybe Cavill’s time has come.