Matthew Goode’s Dark James Bond Pitch Got Him Dropped From "Casino Royale" Contention

Who is your favorite James Bond? I have to go with Pierce Brosnan. He made the role fun, which makes Daniel Craig my least favorite for giving interviews in which he talked about cutting his wrists in relation to having to play the character again.

Before Daniel Craig became the face of James Bond in Casino Royale (2006), several actors were being considered for the role—including Matthew Goode. But as the British actor recently revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, his unique pitch for 007 got him instantly removed from the running.

Goode, then a rising star with credits in Chasing Liberty and Match Point, never made it to a formal audition. Instead, he had a meeting with longtime franchise producer Barbara Broccoli that quickly derailed.

“She asked me what my idea for Bond was,” Goode recalled. “I said, ‘We’ve gotta take it back to the books. Make him an alcoholic, a drug addict. He hates himself. He hates women. He’s in deep pain. But he’s brilliant at killing people.’” Goode admitted he wanted a “really dark” Bond, though he conceded with a laugh: “What I should’ve said was, ‘But also incredibly charming.’”

Needless to say, Broccoli wasn’t impressed. “By the end of the interview, she was like, ‘Mhmm. Next.’”

While Henry Cavill and Sam Worthington did get to audition, it was Craig who ultimately landed the role, redefining Bond for a new generation and leading the franchise to its highest-grossing film ever, Skyfall.

Now, with the Bond rights sold to Amazon MGM Studios, and Denis Villeneuve tapped to direct the next installment, the hunt is on for a younger actor to take up the mantle.

Reportedly, Jacob Elordi, Tom Holland, and Harris Dickinson are among the top contenders.

Goode’s Bond may have been too bleak for 2006, but with a new era beginning, darker visions may yet have their day. Comment below with your thoughts.

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Source: Variety

Photo Credit: MGM