Now that James Bond is under new ownership, there’s been plenty of speculation about who might be cast as the iconic character in the next film installment. Michael Fassbender, meanwhile, is revealing that the last time the Broccoli family was casting the character, he was one of the people who auditioned.
“I met with Barbara Broccoli just, you know, through passing and I actually went in to an audition phase before Daniel [Craig] was cast, but I don’t think I was ever in the mix,” Fassbender said during an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “But I remember going into that room and meeting with her and [Michael G.] Wilson and I think I was like, ‘Daniel Craig is…’ I don’t know why I was promoting him. I should have been promoting myself.”
Fassbender added that he had also bombed an audition for Mad Max: Fury Road after showing up at the Warner Bros. lot an hour late. “This is what I was saying. I was terrible at auditions,” he said. “Obviously Daniel did a fantastic job and went on to be, I think, the most successful Bond in history. But that was it really, there was never a conversation after that.”
Fassbender was one of several young, international stars who auditioned for the role at the time.
Martin Campbell, who directed Casino Royale, Craig’s first Bond film, said that Henry Cavill made an excellent impression during his audition. Ultimately, though, he ended up being too young for the part.
“He looked great in the audition. His acting was tremendous,” Campbell told Express UK. “And look, if Daniel didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond. He looked terrific, he was in great physical shape… Very handsome, very chiseled. He just looked a little young at that time back then.”
