20 years on from his James Bond audition, Henry Cavill discovers the Casino Royale director preferred him over Daniel Craig

Feb. 1, 2024

“I know that the director preferred your audition”

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Almost 20 years on from losing out on the role of James Bond, Henry Cavill has discovered that theCasino Royaledirector supposedly “preferred” him over Daniel Craig to start off with.

“I’d go off and meet with Daniel and he said, ‘There’s this young guy called Henry Cavill who I think they’re seeing as well’… We hadn’t done Stardust yet, and that’s how you came onto my radar.”

Vaughn then drops a bombshell that even MI6 would have done well to cover up after all this time: Casino Royale director Martin Campbell seemingly preferred Henry Cavill’s audition over Daniel Craig’s – but producer Barbara Broccoli had other ideas.

Previously, Martin Campbell toldCinemaBlendthat he wasmore concerned with Cavill’s experience, or lack thereof, when it came to casting the next Bond for Casino Royale.

“I did test him for Bond, as you know. He did a very good test, [but] he was too young, and also he wasn’t as experienced as Daniel,” Campbell explained. “Daniel just fitted the part from being a superb actor, and probably the best actor amongst them all.”

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

For more on Bond and Matthew Vaughn, read our ownInside Total Film podcast interviewwith the Argylle director on why there is “no one on this planet” is a better fit for 007 than Henry Cavill – who has long been a frontrunner to play thenext James Bond.

I’m the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you’ll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

James Gunn clarifies that Superman is having “no reshoots”: “Just a handful of individual shots to enhance the film”

James Gunn hails Robert Downey Jr’s Marvel return as a “great idea”

After the massive success of Deadpool and Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds says he sees the Merc with a Mouth as more of a supporting character going forward