While there is no one currently cast as James Bond, there are over 60 years of history regarding 007s, including the many actors who almost played Bond over the years. While an American has never played James Bond in one of 007's movies, many Hollywood actors like Cary Grant, Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson were once in the running to play the British spy. Even Dick Van Dyke was once pursued for the suave secret agent, and he responded to the offer in the best way.
In 1968, Dick Van Dyke famously starred in the fantasy musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which was produced by James Bond filmmaker Albert R. Broccoli and based on a children’s novel by 007 creator Ian Fleming. Here’s how the actor recalled being asked to play the role:
Yeah, I could have been James Bond. When Sean Connery left, the producer said, 'Would you like to be the next Bond?' I said, 'Have you heard my British accent?' Click! That's a true story!
At the time, Dick Van Dyke had just led a critically-acclaimed and commercial hit for Broccoli with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang just as Sean Connery decided to leave the role the first time after 1967’s You Only Live Twice (before later returning for one more with 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever). Van Dyke was a bankable star of course, but it sounds like he was rather self-aware about his infamous Mary Poppins accent in the 1964 Disney movie.
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Per the 98-year-old actor’s recent words to CBS News, the conversation between himself and Albert R. Broccoli was a quick one that pretty much started and ended with him pointing out his Cockney accent in Mary Poppins, which is still regarded as the worst British accent in a movie. The actor even apologized for his choices for Bert at the BAFTAs in 2017, calling it the “most atrocious Cockney accent in the history of cinema.”
Sean Connery would instead go on to be briefly replaced by Aussie actor George Lazenby for 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Van Dyke would go on to make three back-to-back comedy movies with Some Kind of Nut, The Comic and Cold Turkey. After Connery’s final bow as the first big-screen James Bond in 1971, Roger Moore took up the mantle in 1973 with Live and Let Die, and he played 007 for over a decade.
While Dick Van Dyke’s James Bond was never to be, it’s kind of fun to imagine the actor in the role and learn about his personal reaction to being offered it. Van Dyke spoke about James Bond starring in Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic on the network. The new television special is now available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.
