James Bond hopeful reveals ‘dark’ 007 pitch that saw them dropped from Casino Royale auditions

‘He’s brilliant at killing people,’ actor said

Actor Matthew Goode has revealed he was once disregarded from a list of Hollywood actors considered to play James Bond in Casino Royale due to his “very dark” vision for 007.

The 47-year-old actor, known for his performances in rom-com Chasing Liberty and superhero film Watchmen, was up against stars including Henry Cavill, and Rupert Friend for the iconic role in 2006.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Goode revealed he never got to audition to be James Bond as he torched his chances during a meeting with 007 franchise producer Barbara Broccoli.

“She’s gorgeous and just a lovely, lovely person,” the star recalled.

“She was like, ‘So, what’s your idea for Bond?’ and I was like, ‘My idea for Bond: We’ve got to take it back to the books, you know? Really, we absolutely have to make this guy an alcoholic, a drug addict.”

Goode explained: “‘He hates himself. He hates women. He hates a lot of people. He’s deep in pain. He’s brilliant at killing people’. I think by the end of the interview she was like, ‘Mhmmm. Next.’

“I wanted to make it really dark, but what I should have said was, ‘But also incredibly charming.”

Matthew Goode has revealed he once scuppered his chances of playing James Bond with a 'really dark' vision for 007 (Getty Images)

Daniel Craig was ultimately chosen to play 007 in Casino Royale, thus launching a new Bond era that would see the franchise’s all-time highest earning with 2012’s Skyfall, which grossed $1.1bn (£801m).

Craig resigned as Bond following 2021’s No Time to Die and Broccoli and co-producer Michael G Wilson sold the franchise’s creative rights to Amazon MGM Studios this year.

Although Amazon recently announced Denis Villeneuve (Dune, Blade Runner 2048) would direct the next Bond film, no actor is currently attached to play the titular character.

Tom Holland, Jacob Elordi and Harris Dickinson are reportedly in the running for the lead role in Denis Villeneuve's James Bond film (Getty)

Per Variety, sources said that Amazon is looking for a British actor under the age of 30 to take on the iconic role. “Jacob Elordi, Tom Holland and Harris Dickinson are at the top of the list,” they said.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

“Elordi is Australian, but that would not be a deal-breaker as far as Amazon is concerned; remember Aussie George Lazenby starred in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.’”