Sam Heughan Reveals Why He Wasn’t Cast As James Bond

Outlander star Sam Heughan has revealed why he didn’t make it cut as the main cast as James Bond. In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly on Monday, Oct. 24, concerning his memoir “Waypoints: My Scottish Journey,” the actor revealed that he auditioned for the part but it was given to Daniel Craig instead because he didn’t look “edgy enough.”

Sam wrote, “When I learned the role had gone elsewhere, however, the feedback I received boiled down to the fact that I wasn’t edgy enough by nature. I’m always keen to take on criticism so I can improve as an actor, but the suggestion seemed to be that I lacked this quality in my real character. I could not see what bearing that would have on playing the role, but it was out of my hands, and meant to be.”

According to Sam, his audition was a fast one, all he did was read a scene and that was all. On his way out he thought that he was probably being put on a test, that a car might appear from nowhere to give him a chase.

“It was all so quick, the sweat beneath my leather jacket just starting to form. It was all just so cool and crowned by the fact that Barbara was charming and delightful. When I left, I half wondered whether I was about to be tested with a car chase home.”

Sam Heughan — What Sam Learnt From The Rejection

Sam revealed that after he found out he didn’t get the cast because of his natural appearance, he made it his duty to always look the part both on stage and off stage. Sam shares that the experience taught him to have confidence in himself, he admitted that he wasn’t very good with his self-confidence at the time.

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“I considered it to be a challenge in some ways; a performance I could pretend was really me that I could switch on and off at will. It wasn’t a question of becoming a bad boy. I realized that the edge the Bond team sought could be achieved through self-confidence, which to be fair I was certainly lacking at the time.”

Sam also said that despite the audition being “so hush-hush” no one told him that he was being weighed as a good fit for the role but he felt it. “Nobody ever confirmed that I was being considered for the main role, but I knew. Of course, it blew my mind to think I might even be in the frame for such an iconic figure…I had to remind myself to relax and let them see what I could do with the character.”

Sam Heughan — Will Sam Audition For The New James Bond Role?

So far, there’s been seven actors who have played the role of James Bond through the years. From its first-ever actor Sean Connery who played the role in the years 1962–1967, down to Daniel Craig who played the role from 2006 -2021.

Daniel Craig’s last film as James Bond was No Time To Die. After Craig hung his boots, a new actor is required to play the role for the next ten years or less. During Sam’s conversation with EW, Sam explained that since his audition for the cast, he has always wondered what his career would have been like had it been he got the cast.

Discussing if he would get the part now that the role is open, Sam said, “Maybe I’m too old now. I know that they’ve been talking about making him younger, I feel like that’s where they’re gonna go, but who knows what’s in their mind.”

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