As the powers in charge of the James Bond movies prepared to revamp the series in 2006’s Casino Royale, this search for the new face of 007 was potentially the most important. While the role eventually went to Daniel Craig, there was a field of notable contenders that would eventually make huge names for themselves. Perry Mason’s Matthew Rhys was one of them, but his chances were apparently scrapped when some jokes he made during his audition didn’t go over as well as planned.
Rhys sat down with The Times of London (via Deadline) for an interview about not only his current Perry Mason gig, but also his role on FX’s hit espionage drama The Americans. Imagining the man in a tuxedo, trying to shake down a terrorist organization over a game of Texas Hold ‘em certainly isn’t a stretch with jobs like that.
