Outlander actor Sam Heughan has spoken about his chances of being the next James Bond – and revealed he once auditioned for Casino Royale.
"I don’t think so," Heughan told Gentlemen’s Journal of his current position with bookmakers as one of the leading names in the running to play 007 after Daniel Craig’s departure in No Time to Die.
"I think the odds are a bit of a fallacy. I’m obviously such a huge fan of the Bond movies. I actually just rewatched the most recent one again, No Time To Die. I mean, it would be an incredible job, wouldn’t it?"
Heughan may not be drawn into any speculation, but he did reveal he was in the frame to play James Bond at one point.
"I did audition for it, back when they were doing Casino Royale," Heughan said. "But I was quite young then. I was like twenty-something. It was when Daniel Craig got the role. And I think, initially at least, they were going to go younger; to go back to when Bond was like 20-years-old."
Heughan, then, joins Henry Cavill as two younger, fresher faces who ultimately lost out to Daniel Craig. The Young Bond idea, however, is still floating around and was even pitched by Tom Holland. Heughan thinks it’s where the series will go next.
"I actually feel like that’s what they might do next – do an origin story, which would be pretty cool," Heughan said.
Relive 007’s biggest hits (and misses) with our ranking of the best James Bond movies.
