One of the oldest and most beloved franchises in the eyes of fans is the James Bond franchise. A peerless British literary spy, Bond is designated as 007 (‘double-o-seven’), and several A-listers have stood in line to play the masculine icon. And why not? The character has a whopping twenty-five films to his name with the movie series grossing well over $7 billion ever since its first release to date, securing the title of being the fifth highest-grossing film series of all time.
Yet, only the choosiest of actors have been able to play this notorious womanizer. That being said, this $616 million blockbuster James Bond movie director has no regrets even after turning down Henry Cavill for his movie despite calling Daniel Craig ‘ugly’.
This $616M Movie Director Doesn’t Regret Rejecting Henry Cavill For James Bond Role
This dates back to when the 2006 version of Casino Royale, the twenty-first movie in the James Bond film series, had its casting in progress. At the time, even Superman portrayer Henry Cavill auditioned for the role.
However, Martin Campbell had a different approach for the spy in his movie, and the Man of Steel star was a bit young at the time for the role.
“He looked great in the audition,” Campbell said. “His acting was tremendous. 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.”
Nonetheless, the director doesn’t regret it, for the one who replaced Henry Cavill was someone fans would always consider to be one of the best stars to ever play their favorite spy.
Martin Campbell Called Daniel Craig Ugly And Then Cast Him In Casino Royale (2006)
Though he rejected Cavill, Martin Campbell settled on Daniel Craig to play Bond in his 2006 movie Casino Royale, despite calling him ‘ugly’ indirectly.
“He’s a very fine actor,” said Martin Campbell. “He looks different to the stereotype of Bond, and he doesn’t have the pretty-boy looks of someone like Pierce, but he’s good-looking in a very rugged, tough way. He’s got an edge to him, I think. He’s more weighty than Pierce. And to be honest, he fitted the Casino Royale Bond so much better than the other actors we saw.”
He further went on to explain how the typical image of James Bond created in the movies before Casino Royale is pretty much false, given the portrayal of the character in the books, and how Craig held the potential to change that.
“I mean, the image we have of Bond is false, it’s almost entirely created by the movies. If you read the books, there’s no humour. The guy smokes and drinks. He has doubts about himself. And Daniel can do that. He was very good in Munich. Even though I wasn’t a big fan of the film, I thought he was one of the best things in it – and he barely opened his mouth.”
All in all, choosing Daniel Craig over Henry Cavill did end up being in favor of Campbell, for his movie became one of the best and highest-grossing James Bond movies ever after earning a whopping net revenue worldwide of $616 million at the box office over a budget of mere 150 million dollars.
You can watch Casino Royale on Max.
Source: Empire
