Before Daniel Craig was cast as the new James Bond in Casino Royale, Michael Fassbender was one of many young actors who auditioned for the role. However, Fassbender explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he spent his audition promoting another actor instead: Daniel Craig.
“I met with Barbara Broccoli just you know through passing and I actually went in to an audition phase before Daniel [Craig] was cast, but I don’t think I was ever in the mix,” Fassbender said. “But I remember going into that room and meeting with her and [Michael G.] Wilson and I think I was like, ‘Daniel Craig is…’ I don’t know why I was promoting him. I should have been promoting myself.“
Fassbender continued, “This is what I was saying. I was terrible at auditions. Obviously Daniel did a fantastic job and went on to be, I think, the most successful Bond in history. But that was it really, there was never a conversation after that.“
Given that Fassbender has already inadvertently but successfully pitched one actor for the role of James Bond, who does he think should play 007 now that the role is up for grabs? “Regé [Jean Page] who’s in this movie,” Fassbender said. “I think after people see his performance in this, he could be a frontrunner.“
The movie Fassbender speaks of is Black Bag, an upcoming spy thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by David Koepp. The film follows legendary intelligence agents George Woodhouse and his beloved wife, Kathryn. When she’s suspected of betraying the nation, George faces the ultimate test—loyalty to his marriage or his country. In addition to Fassbender, the movie stars Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page, and Pierce Brosnan. Our own Chris Bumbray was a fan. “Running a taut ninety minutes, Soderbergh’s crafted a twisty spy romp,” Bumbray wrote. “If you liked his Ocean’s Trilogy, you’ll likely get a big kick out his spy flick. Fassbender’s Woodhouse is such an interesting antihero that perhaps a return to his take on spycraft might not be out of the question were this Focus Features release to do well.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.
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