Six years before Jurassic Park, he was recast as James Bond

If Sam Neill is best known for his iconic role in Jurassic Park, he almost became the star of the James Bond franchise in the late 1980s with To Kill Is Not Playing, replacing Timothy Dalton, who eventually became the 5th James. Bond for the 15th and 16th films in the saga.

His first major role was in the 1977 action thriller Sleeping Dogs, before gaining worldwide recognition for his portrayal of Dr. Alan Grant in the classic. Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg in 1993. He went on to have a successful career, with recent high-profile performances including as Chief Inspector Campbell in Peaky Blinders and as Hector Faulkner in Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

The competition can begin

But a career Sam Neal He could have taken a different direction if he had been given the role of James Bond. In the early 1980s, it was revealed that Roger Moore was retiring after his 7th James Bond film, Dangerous You, and a replacement had to be sought. Candidates at that time Killing is not a game ? Timothy DaltonPierce Brosnan, Sean Bean and Sam Neal – The latter was cast in part thanks to his performance in the British spy series Reilly: Ace of Spies, which proved he had the chops to play Ian Fleming’s famously fictional MI6 agent.

in front of him Pierce Brosnanwho was also considered for the role (until his time) had to drop out of the running due to contractual obligations to The Remington Steele Mysteries. Sean Bean would also audition before eventually playing the villain in GoldenEye a few years later. However, it seems Sam Neal It was the closest thing to playing a character Timothy Dalton Finally took the lead in the race – so close that he even filmed the test to find out below.

Several members of the production team Killing is not a gameDirector John Glenn was also wanted Sam Neal explains the spy. But part of the reason he didn’t get the 007 role was that he didn’t really want it. in 2022, Sam Neal He explained why he wasn’t suited to play Bond and admitted that he didn’t even want to test for the film. It was her agent who pushed her to audition because of the fame and notoriety that comes with playing the character.

But if Sam Neal James Bond has become, perhaps missing some of his most famous roles, especially in it Jurassic Park. Evil for good? It may be so.

Rediscover his performance in the first Jurassic Park, currently available on Prime Video.