The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / TV Actor Who Lost Out On James Bond When Roger Moore Changed His Mind

**Posted by RadioActive** July 13, 2025 7:14 am

No, it wasn't Tom Selleck, who was obligated to finish Magnum P.I.

Instead it was a former Marcus Welby star who not only flew to London and was getting ready to move there for a year, was approved by the producers, met with the stuntmen, and was all but signed to make "Octopussy."

But then Roger Moore changed his mind and decided to come back for one last film.

I wonder how history could have changed if James Brolin had actually assumed the role. We'll never know, because he never got another chance.

"We hadn't signed any papers yet. I got back to L.A. to get my stuff because I was going to be gone for a year. And I got a call saying Roger decided to do one more, and I was out."

American actor reveals he was 'hired' as James Bond in '80s – but Roger Moore changed his mind

**Posted by Shorty Wave** July 13, 2025 7:58 am

Brolin would have probably played a great Bond, however, Bond is British, Brolin isn’t, so I wonder how audiences would react to an American 007. I don’t think I would buy it!

**Posted by Hansa** July 13, 2025 2:15 pm

I suspect that was a ploy to get Moore to sign.

**Posted by RonaldS** July 13, 2025 3:04 pm

It turns out that Moore stayed for two more films - "Octopussy" (1983), and "A View to a Kill" (1985).

If memory serves, the Broccoli family wanted Pierce Brosnan for the role next, but he was obligated to work on on the television series "Remington Steele", which was cancelled a year or two later.

RadioActive wrote:
No, it wasn't Tom Selleck, who was obligated to finish Magnum P.I.

Instead it was a former Marcus Welby star who not only flew to London and was getting ready to move there for a year, was approved by the producers, met with the stuntmen, and was all but signed to make "Octopussy."

But then Roger Moore changed his mind and decided to come back for one last film.

I wonder how history could have changed if James Brolin had actually assumed the role. We'll never know, because he never got another chance.

"We hadn't signed any papers yet. I got back to L.A. to get my stuff because I was going to be gone for a year. And I got a call saying Roger decided to do one more, and I was out."

American actor reveals he was 'hired' as James Bond in '80s – but Roger Moore changed his mind

**Posted by newsguy1** July 13, 2025 8:01 pm

This "what if" story has always intrigued me.
As a kid I was a big fan of Danger Man that morphed into Secret Agent.
The interesting thing is they made a movie out of John Drake called "Karoshi" which involved him battling the Yakuza.
It was very James Bondish

Patrick McGoohan was considered for the role of James Bond but ultimately turned it down due to his strong moral objections to the character's portrayal of sex and violence. He found the character's behavior, particularly his treatment of women, to be morally reprehensible. McGoohan preferred the character of John Drake in Danger Man (also known as Secret Agent), who embodied his ideals of a more moral and restrained spy.

Last edited by newsguy1 (July 13, 2025 8:02 pm)

**Posted by TomTV** July 13, 2025 8:07 pm

newsguy1, you can't directly embed a jpeg image in your post. Use an image host like imgbb.com to upload your image and copy-and-paste the link.

**Posted by RadioActive** July 13, 2025 9:17 pm

A lot of people make that error. I've fixed it in his post and I hope he's not shaken or stirred.