Kiwi actor Sam Neill was left embarrassed after his 1986 audition to play James Bond. Photo / Getty Images
Kiwi actor Sam Neill was left embarrassed after his 1986 audition to play James Bond. Photo / Getty Images
This article was one of Herald Entertainment’s best-read stories of 2023
Much-loved Kiwi actor Sam Neill was red-faced during a live interview on Australia’s Today show in March, when he was surprised by a “cruel” video from his past.
Northern Irish-born Neill, 75, appeared on the show via videolink to discuss his new memoir with entertainment reporter Brooke Boney.
Midway through the interview, though, Boney brought up Neill’s unsuccessful 1986 screen test to play James Bond – and had the footage cued up to play to viewers.
Sam Neill once auditioned for the role of James Bond. Photo / Today
There was a 39-year-old Neill, shirt open and pistol in hand, as he walked in on a woman in bed and uttered the immortal words: “My friends call me Bond … James Bond”.
Neill buried his head in his hands with embarrassment as the clip played, jokingly wagging his finger at Boney and telling her: “Oh, my God, no – That is so cruel to play that, so cruel.”
Neill graciously offered context to his embarrassment, revealing that it was a relief when he missed out on the role.
“I really did not want that part. My friend Pierce Brosnan wanted it so much … I felt so awkward all that day that we made it. I was so relieved they offered it to someone else – they’re welcome to it!”
New Zealand-born actor Sam Neill was visibly embarrassed when an Aussie news show brought up one of his past audition tapes. Photo / Today
“You really don’t want to be the Bond that no one likes. That’s a fate worse than death.”
Neill’s James Bond screen test came a year before Timothy Dalton took over the movie role in 1987′s The Living Daylights. Dalton would last only one more film in the role, before Brosnan took over for a four-film stint with 1995′s Goldeneye.
Elsewhere in the interview, Neill opened up about the revelation from his new book that’s made the most headlines: he recently underwent treatment for stage-three blood cancer.
Neill’s blunt reveal that he had been diagnosed with the disease is one of the first things mentioned in the book.
“The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up,” he writes in the first chapter.
After two bouts of chemotherapy – the first of which failed – Neill is now in remission and cancer-free.
“I’m absolutely great. I’m in remission, and I’ve been in remission for about eight months now.
“But I did have nothing to do while I was going through some pretty severe chemotherapy, so I wrote this book. It gave me something to do … and I feel really good now.”
This article was originally published on March 22, 2023
