James Bond audition tapes from 2005 have seemingly appeared online and show Henry Cavill’s version of 007 before he eventually lost out to Daniel Craig.
As reported by Games Radar, a handful of the tapes appeared on the Ron South YouTube channel, owned by “an avid filmmaker” with 1,890 subscribers. Alongside Cavill’s tapes were those of Sam Worthington, Rupert Friend, and Anthony Starr.
It’s Cavill’s that have gained the most attention over the years, however, with many believing he would have made an excellent James Bond including Casino Royale director Martin Campbell, who called the audition “tremendous.”
In fact, Campbell apparently preferred Cavill for the role but he eventually lost out because other decision makers preferred Craig.
Cavill at least got to live out the spy fantasy in Argylle, where he played the lead role and was joined by the likes of Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, and Catherine O’Hara. The film wasn’t received well at all despite the stellar cast, however, earning just a 4/10 in IGN’s review.
The actor continues to enjoy a varied career otherwise, appearing as none other than Superman for DC, Geralt of Rivia in the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher, and in many other roles.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
