Pop Culture from an Alternate Dimension

       With talk of a new James Bond, I thought it was time to do another "man who would be Bond". Last time I talked about American James Brolin auditioning for the part, this time it is New Zealander Sam Neill. Roger Moore yet again did not want to return to the role. Producer Michael G. Wilson, director John Glen, Dana and Barbara Broccoli were impressed with Neill's screentest and wanted to cast him , however Albert "Cubby" Broccoli disagreed. Pierce Brosnan was also considered but didn't get the part until 1995's GoldenEye.       The theme song could have been different as well. Instead of a-ha, it was almost Pet Shop Boys. Sam Neill as James Bond - Screentest (1986) The Living Daylights 1987 - Alternative Title Sequence With The Pet Shops Boys Rejected Theme. - YouTube

      The first actor to play James Bond was an American named Barry Nelson in 1954 for an episode of the tv series Climax! . Britain's most famous secret agent was almost played by an American again for Octopussy . James Brolin was set to play J.B. after Roger Moore. He screen tested a fight scene, a love scene and a dialog scene. When it was found that another Bond film, Never Say Never Again , would be competing with their release and it would star Sean Connery, the producers decided to ask Roger Moore to return.      If Connery had not been talked into returning to his famous role we might have seen Brolin's interpretation of the spy. Also, if Never Say Never Again was not made, Barbara Carrera would have been available to play Octopussy. She might have looked more appropriate for someone in India than Swedish-born actress Maud Adams who had already been in the Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun as a different character. James Brolin Screen Test F...