“I could have done it very well”: Burt Reynolds Revealed Why He Turned Down Desperate James Bond Producers to Replace Sean Connery
American actor Burt Reynolds was one of the most talented actors of his generation. Having started his acting career as a Broadway artist, he was cast in the Look, We’ve Come Through which happened to be his debut. Interestingly, he did not take an acting class until later when he returned from the tour he had embarked on with the cast of the play.
Burt Reynolds was often dubbed as a double for Marlon Brando at the beginning of his career. His first break came with a role as the lead of the TV series Riverboat alongside alongside Darren McGavin. He went on to star in numerous other TV shows and movies. However, there were some roles that he turned down, and regretted doing so later.
Burt Reynolds Turned Down The Role of James Bond
Burt Reynolds was known for mesmerizing women with his charismatic looks. He impressed audiences with his performances for six decades, from 1958 to 2018 which was the year he passed away depriving the world of an immensely talented artist.
Reynolds is known for his iconic roles as Paul ‘Wrecking’ Crewe and Bo ‘Bandit’ Darville in The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit respectively. However, what many might not know is that he once turned down the role of the British spy James Bond.
In an interview with Business Insider, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing actor said:
“I think I was putting myself down in a way, because I think I could have done it very well. Though once you do something like that and it’s successful you’re bound to play that part for a long time. I think I would have liked it. I like that kind of tongue-in-cheek humor.”
Part of the reason why Burt Reynolds turned down the role was that he did not think that any American actor would be interested in doing the role. Consequently, when producer Albert R. Broccoli asked him to take over the role of Sean Connery, the White Lightning actor refused to do it only to regret it later.
Burt Reynolds Turned Down Another Iconic Role
Playing the role of the 007 spy could have altered the trajectory of Burt Reynolds’ career. One would think that he had made the mistake of turning down such a big role only once. However, that is not the truth as he had done it again.
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The Gator director had also turned down the role of Han Solo in George Lucas’ Star Wars. Lucas and 20th Century Fox had offered the role to Reynolds in 1977 considering he was one of the most popular actors in the 1970s. He turned the role and expressed his regret for doing so to Business Insider 2016, saying: “I just didn’t want to play that kind of role at the time. Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it.”
The role eventually went to Harrison Ford who not only played a great job at doing it but also made a great career out of it. Despite missing such huge roles, Burt Reynolds remained one of the best actors in Hollywood.
