Burt Reynolds talks about 'missing out' on James Bond

American actor Burt Reynolds talked to Deadline this week to promote his new memoir, 'But Enough About Me'. One of the topics of conversation were the roles he passed on or did not pursue, one of which was James Bond...

DEADLINE: You also said no to James Bond, and Han Solo in a Star Wars sequel, you wrote. Is there one in particular you wish you had back?

REYNOLDS: I would’ve liked to have had a shot at James Bond, if for no other reason, I’d be very rich now, and I could’ve had a good time with him. I would’ve at least smiled once in a while, whereas the new guy doesn’t even chuckle.

DEADLINE: Not a fan?

REYNOLDS: I think Sean Connery was great, but I thought nobody else was close to what I think the character needed to be. Roger Moore was that guy…I mean Roger grew up knowing how to order a martini, and I don’t know the difference between a martini and a whatever, but I think I could’ve had a good time with Bond. I think that the problem has been that they haven’t found a guy who was ballsy enough as a character, but yet had a great deal of suave and knew how to handle himself. So, as a character, Roger Moore has all that stuff, but Roger’s a little bit cleaned and scrubbed, you know?

DEADLINE: There’s been a lot of debate in the press over Idris Elba and whether they would cast an actor of color for 007. You wrote you turned down Bond because how can an American play him. When I first watched Elba in The Wire, I didn’t even realize he was British until I saw his BBC series Luther. Could you have faked the British accent?

REYNOLDS: Yeah. I wasn’t worried about that. I thought I could make that passable. I’ve got a good ear, and I can play a lot of different things, and I wasn’t worried about that. That wasn’t the reason. I just felt that, at the time, I thought there might be a resistance from the public. I don’t know. What the hell was the matter with me? I should’ve done it.
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