Debbie McWilliams has always been the casting director of the James Bond series since 1981’s For Your Eyes Only. The super talented casting director has experience and expertise in putting people across as best and clearly told at the BFI’s ‘In conversation: 60 years of James Bond’ event that Timothy Dalton wasn’t the first choice for the role.
It was Pierce Brosnan but he was locked into a contract on the US TV show Remington Steele that he couldn’t get out of. He eventually replaced Dalton and played Bond between 1995 and 2002. Dalton had replaced Roger Moore in the role of the 007 star, and according to the casting director, he rose to fame from the role.
Dalton was best known for his role in the historical epic The Lion in Winter as well as his work in the theatre though had previously been considered to play the spy after Sean Connery stepped away from the role. Dalton only appeared in two Bond films – 1987’s The Living Daylights and 1989’s Licence to Kill – before legal issues between MGM and Eon delayed another sequel for six years.
Since leaving the role, Dalton is best known for his appearances in Doctor Who, Hot Fuzz and Penny Dreadful. It can be said without a shadow of a doubt that Brosnan made the 007 franchise a hit amongst the masses as the franchise had no major fanbase outside of The States before Pierce arrived on the scene.
The search for the next face of the 007 franchise and star is on as Daniel Craig’s No Time to Die ended his contract in the series of the movies. While no name has been announced yet, it’s a given that it will be a male and we have discussed about it in our articles in the same genre.
Who do you think should be the next James Bond? Sound off in the comments.
