Dr. Alan Grant or James Bond? And yes, Sam Neill almost played the iconic spy before landing the role that made him famous in “Jurassic Park.” And here is a test video proving that he had what it takes, obviously!
While 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 the film No Playing Cards, replacing Timothy Dalton who ultimately became the 5th James Bond for the 15th and 16th films in the saga.
He landed his first leading role in the 1977 action thriller Sleeping Dogs before gaining international recognition for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the classic Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg's 1993 film. He has continued to have a successful career, with recent high-profile performances including DCI Campbell in Peaky Blinders and Hector Faulkner in Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
The competition can begin
But the career of Sam Neill could have gone in a different direction if he had landed the role of James Bond. In the early 1980s, it became clear that Roger Moore would be retiring after his 7th James Bond film, A View to a Kill, and a search for a replacement had to be made. The candidates at the time for Killing is not playing ? Timothy DaltonPierce Brosnan, Sean Bean and Sam Neill – the latter was selected partly on the strength of his performance in the British spy TV series Reilly: Ace of Spies, which proved he had what it took to play Ian Fleming's famous fictional MI6 agent.
In front of him, Pierce Brosnanalso considered for the role (ahead of his time) had to drop out of the running due to contractual obligations to the series The Remington Steele Mysteries. Sean Bean would have also auditioned before finally playing the villain in GoldenEye a few years later. However, it seems that Sam Neill was the closest to signing on to play the character before Timothy Dalton ultimately took the lead in the race – so close that he even filmed a test, which you can see below.
Several members of the production team of Killing is not playingincluding director John Glen, also wanted that Sam Neill plays the spy. But part of the reason he didn't get the role of 007 is because he didn't really want it. In 2022, Sam Neill explained why playing Bond didn't suit him, and admitted that he was even reluctant to test for the film. It was his agent who forced him to audition, because of the fame and notoriety that comes with playing the character.
But if Sam Neill had become James Bond, he might have missed out on some of his most famous roles, including in Jurassic Park. A blessing in disguise? Maybe.
Rediscover his performance in the very first Jurassic Park, currently available on Prime Video.