Tiffani Amber Thiessen came surprisingly close to becoming a James Bond girl. The Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210 star recently opened up about one of the hardest rejections of her career while appearing on I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario. Thiessen revealed that she auditioned for a James Bond movie, made it all the way to the final three actresses, and ultimately lost the role.
Thiessen didn’t name the Bond movie or character during the interview, but there’s a pretty obvious possibility when you look back at her career: Dr. Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough. She has previously been identified as one of the actresses who auditioned for the role of Christmas Jones, the American nuclear physicist who teams up with Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond in the 1999 movie. Denise Richards ultimately got the part.
Tiffani Thiessen was one of three actresses left in the running
Speaking with Tommy DiDario, Thiessen was asked about an audition that had been particularly difficult for her.
“One audition that I had that I went really far and I was, you know, testing for the feature and I ultimately didn’t get it and was one of the hardest things,” she recalled.
Naturally, DiDario wanted to know what movie she was talking about. “James Bond,” Thiessen revealed.
When DiDario asked if she had been close to becoming a Bond girl, Thiessen didn’t mince words. “I was very close to being a Bond girl.”
She went on to explain that she was one of the final three actresses being considered. That made the rejection especially difficult because she was already a huge Bond fan. “I was such a fan of James Bond,” she said. “And always wanted to be a James Bond girl.”
Losing the Bond role made Tiffani Thiessen question her career
Getting that close to a major franchise role only to lose it hit Thiessen hard enough that she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue acting. “I remember questioning my career after that,” she said. “Do I keep going? And do I really wanna do this? Can I handle rejection like that?”
She recalled getting into her car and driving to the beach, where she spent some time alone thinking about what had happened. “I put everything into it,” she said. Ultimately, however, she came away from the experience believing that the rejection had taught her something.
It certainly wasn’t the end of her career. Thiessen continued working in television and film, and she remains best known for playing Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell and Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210.
What if Tiffani Thiessen had played Christmas Jones?
It’s one of those fun pieces of alternate movie history that makes casting stories interesting. The World Is Not Enough was released in 1999, with Pierce Brosnan returning for his third movie as James Bond. Denise Richards played Christmas Jones, an American nuclear physicist who becomes involved in Bond’s mission to stop the terrorist Renard, played by Robert Carlyle.
Richards’ casting became one of the more memorable (and often questioned) Bond-girl decisions of the Brosnan era. And now we know that Thiessen was apparently very close to being the person playing her.
It’s impossible to know how Thiessen’s career might have turned out if she had gotten the part, but she certainly would have added another interesting chapter to the already fascinating casting history of the Bond franchise.
Tiffani Thiessen hasn’t ruled out James Bond
Interestingly enough, Thiessen isn’t completely closing the door on Bond. During the interview, DiDario suggested that it might not be too late for her to become part of the franchise after all.
“Do I say James Bond?” Thiessen joked when asked if there was still something on her career bucket list. She admitted that she didn’t think it was likely, but added that it would be pretty cool if it happened. “Maybe,” she said. “It’s never too late.”
What do you think of the idea of Tiffani Amber Thiessen playing Dr. Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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