Henry Cavill and Zack Snyder officially linked up for the first time for Man of Steel. However, this wasn’t the first Snyder movie Cavill was eyed for. The filmmaker originally tried to recruit Cavill for 300. But at the time, the actor was determined to be the next James Bond instead.
The advice ‘Casino Royale’ director Martin Campbell gave Henry Cavill after rejecting him for James Bond
As many know, Henry Cavill was nearly cast as James Bond for Casino Royale before Daniel Craig took the role. However, even though Craig beat out his competition, Campbell was very complimentary of Cavill’s work.
“Henry did a great screen test for Bond,” Campbell told Express.
However, he felt that Cavill’s age might have been a factor for not casting the Batman V Superman star.
“Perhaps Henry Cavill was too young for it then, he was 22 at the time we auditioned for Casino Royale, but maybe he could still be James Bond in the future,” he continued.
But Campbell didn’t turn down Cavill without giving the actor some much-appreciated advice about auditioning. According to Insider, the filmmaker told the Bond hopeful to lean out a bit in his next Bond audition.
“It was his tough love way of saying, ‘Look, mate, you’re in a Bond screen test. Next time you come to a screen test, really focus hard on making sure you lean up if it’s for something like Bond.’ And I wasn’t by any means chubby, but I was probably overweight for taking my shirt off on camera,” Cavill recalled.
Henry Cavill turned down Zack Snyder’s ‘300’ for a chance to be James Bond
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Cavill was so focused on being Bond that he was willing to reject roles in high-profile movies. So with those sacrifices, Cavill couldn’t help but be disappointed when he was rejected.
“I’d turned down a leading role in 300 because it was down to Daniel Craig and me, and auditioning for Bond took all my focus,” Cavill told Nuts magazine (via Contact Music.)
Despite his loss, Cavill ultimately felt that there couldn’t have been a better choice than Craig.
“The choice was between a younger Bond and one closer to his 40s, which is to say, Daniel Craig. But I’ve seen what Daniel did and I think the Bond producers made the right choice. He’s fantastic,” he confided.
Henry Cavill would jump at the opportunity to play James Bond
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With Craig’s time as Bond at an end, fans have started speculating about who could inherit the Bond mantle next. Cavill has been frequently brought up as a possible option as the next 007. In an interview with GQ, he shared that he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity if approached.
“At this stage, it’s all up in the air. We’ll see what happens. But yes, I would love to play Bond, it would be very, very exciting,” he said.
The Sunday Times also asked Cavill if he saw any similarities between himself and Bond. But for Cavill, there were many Bonds to choose from when discussing which MI6 agent he’d fit the most.
“It depends. We could be talking about Daniel’s Bond, or whoever the next Bond is… They will probably be in their thirties or forties, or early forties. Maybe they’ll even go younger like they were considering with me when it was down to me and Daniel,” he shared.
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