Six stars who almost became 007, from Sam Neill to Henry Cavill

When Bond producers audition a new 007, they don’t just hand over a tux and hope for the best. For decades, screen tests at Pinewood Studios’ famed 007 Stage have leaned on two set pieces to measure suavity and steel: the bedroom seduction from From Russia with Love and, later, the flirty casino meet-cute with Xenia Onatopp from GoldenEye. Fight beats are often built just for the test to see if a candidate can sell the physical side, too.

For Casino Royale, multiple contenders read the same GoldenEye casino scene.

The almost-007s

• James Brolin — In 1982, with chatter that Roger Moore might bow out after For Your Eyes Only, the then–42-year-old American, known for The Amityville Horror , emerged as a serious option. He worked up a near-English accent, ran the From Russia with Love seduction and a specially staged fight, and impressed—until Moore decided to return. Brolin’s Bond test, including that bedroom scene, still circulates online.
• Sam Neill — At 38, the New Zealander tested for The Living Daylights, again using the From Russia with Love seduction. Director John Glen reportedly favored him, but producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli wasn’t convinced, and the role went to Timothy Dalton. Seven years later, Neill landed Jurassic Park.
• Henry Cavill — In 2005, as the franchise moved on from Pierce Brosnan (after 2002’s Die Another Day and an initially floated fifth outing), a 22-year-old Cavill auditioned for Casino Royale. He read Bond’s double-entendre-heavy first encounter with Xenia in the GoldenEye casino sequence. Director Martin Campbell later said Cavill gave a strong audition but was too young for the part at the time.
• Antony Starr — Years before The Boys, a 29-year-old Starr tried out for Casino Royale with the same GoldenEye casino pages Cavill used. He delivered his lines in his natural New Zealand accent—an unusual sound for a would-be Bond—before his career swerved into caped-nightmare territory as Homelander.
• Rupert Friend — At 23, with only The Libertine (opposite Johnny Depp ) on his résumé, Friend also tackled the GoldenEye casino scene in his Bond test. He missed out on 007 but quickly landed Pride & Prejudice and later found spy work of a different stripe on Homeland as a CIA operative.
• Sam Worthington — Before Pandora, Worthington read the GoldenEye material for Casino Royale. He’s said the bruiser side of Bond came naturally, but the upper-crust British polish—especially the voice—was the hurdle. The tux may not have fit, but the Na’vi skin sure did.

Those same testing staples—the sultry From Russia with Love bedroom exchange and the GoldenEye casino banter—became the yardstick that measured all of the above, and, for Casino Royale in particular, were handed to multiple contenders cycling through Pinewood’s doors.