Kevin Spacey reveals he was up for Bond 23 villain role

22-Feb-2011 • Skyfall

Oh what could have been. In a meet and greet preceding a recent screening of The Usual Suspects, the always brilliant Kevin Spacey dished at length on everything from beating Rafael Nadal at ping pong to roles he narrowly missed out on. One of them, however, is of particular interest. Apparently, both Spacey and director Sam Mendes were particularly excited about the Oscar winner playing the villain in the upcoming Bond 23, reports Cinema Blend His last foray into the seedy underworld, Superman Returns, may not have been the greatest superhero movie of all-time, but honestly, that was hardly his fault.

According to Live for Films, it's Richard III that's at fault for Spacey getting blocked out of the role. The theater enthusiast is going on tour with the production right as Mendes takes Bond 23 into filming, creating an unavoidable scheduling conflict. When it comes to choosing between Hollywood and the stage, Spacey has repeatedly chosen the latter. Now, as a result, Javier Bardem, is the man we're all waiting for an answer from.

You may remember Mendes and Spacey worked together on American Beauty and that didn't turn out so bad. Hopefully, if the director's work with James Bond goes over well, he'll consider Lester Burnham for a villain role in the future.