Sam Heughan has revealed the specific feedback he was given after his unsuccessful audition to become the next James Bond after Pierce Brosnan – an opportunity that ultimately went to Daniel Craig.
The actor, who currently stars in fantasy drama Outlander, has previously disclosed that he was once in contention for the coveted gig, and has repeatedly expressed his continued interest in the role.
His name has come up regularly as Bond fans discuss the franchise’s future following Craig’s departure in last year’s epic blockbuster No Time to Die, making headlines after coming top in a RadioTimes.com poll.
However, fresh details have emerged about Heughan’s original Bond bid in an excerpt from his newly released autobiography titled Waypoints: My Scottish Journey, which was first shared by Entertainment Weekly.
“I knew there would be stiff competition, of course, and ultimately Daniel Craig made Bond his own,” writes Heughan. “When I learned the role had gone elsewhere, however, the feedback I received boiled down to the fact that I wasn’t edgy enough by nature.
“I’m always keen to take on criticism so I can improve as an actor, but the suggestion seemed to be that I lacked this quality in my real character. I could not see what bearing that would have on playing the role, but it was out of my hands, and meant to be.”
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Heughan took the criticism to heart, revealing that he “learned” to appear differently to his natural character even outside of an audition scenario, in the hope of never again losing a role for personal reasons.
“I considered it to be a challenge in some ways; a performance I could pretend was really me that I could switch on and off at will,” he adds.
“It wasn’t a question of becoming a bad boy. I realised that the edge the Bond team sought could be achieved through self-confidence, which to be fair I was certainly lacking at the time.”
Last week, it was also revealed that David Tennant was in the running to play James Bond following Pierce Brosnan’s tenure.
Waypoints: My Scottish Journey is available now from Amazon and other retailers. Outlander is available to stream on Lionsgate+. Sign up for a 30-day free trial to Lionsgate+ on Amazon Prime Video now.
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