Macnee was to be Bond--would it have worked?

I imagine if this version of "Casino Royale" had been made then it would have been a very different animal to the version of "Dr. No" that finally appeared in 1963!

I'm not sure if Patrick Macnee would have been entirely successful as James Bond having made such an impact as John Steed; although it would have been very interesting to see! I suspect he wouldn't have been a million miles away from Pierce Brosnan's interpretation of the role.

"We all got it comin' kid!"

I can totally picture him as James Bond...as a matter of fact, his John Steed in the third season was charming but he could be very tough and sometimes a little rude (not so much in the other seasons: he was much more of a gentleman in the Emma Peel/Tara King era- too suave to play Bond).
But I'm glad it didn't happen, we wouldn't have had The Avengers and I'm not a big fan of James Bond, to tell the truth.



"Life without empathy is no fun at all"
~Proud Balehead~

That is very interesting - I would even think it was a false rumor except that it appears to have come from a reliable first hand source (the writer). Macnee himself has never mentioned it in any interview or book that I know, making me wonder if he was aware of the intention of the producer and/or writer. Perhaps they never got to the point of actually asking him!

As for his making a good Bond, he is an excellent actor, certainly a versatile one. He wasn't bound by audience expectations to be the quintessential gentleman yet, so he may well have been a good Bond. But like other posters here, I'm much happier he stayed with THE AVENGERS, as I cannot envision any other actor of the period (or beyond) in the role of John Steed.

"Holy one-track Bat-computer mind!"

I suppose that all the people who participated in this thread to this moment must be men . I'm a straight male as well , but I think I know enough about women to declare that our Patrick would have never ever become an icon with the female audience . Seriously , do you think it would have been believable for all the gorgeous bond girls to lose their heads for him ? The fact that Honor still wastes so much energy to deny that her character ( not her , her character ! ) was sleeping with him in "The Avengers" should really tell something about how much she felt attracted to him !

Anyway I still find this story hard to believe . Especially since Patrick never brought it up either , which is something he would have incessantly done .. had the whole thing been true . BTW , he still claims that the role of Andrew Wyke in "Sleuth" was originally offered to him before than everyone else , but he had to decline it ( Why ? He had to shoot "Incense for the Damned" ? ) Now if you read Anthony Shaffer's autobiography , "So What Did You Expect ?" , you will surprisingly find out that Macnee isn't mentioned in any point , nor as the man who inspired the role ( go figure ) , nor as one of the actors who played it , which is something he did for real . Also in Shaffer's book it appears that Anthony Quayle , the original Wyke , also played an important role in the creation of the play .

Now if Mr.Banks Stewart is reliable as Patrick , Brian Clemens or Ray Austin I wouldn't give much thought to this rumour .

Don't get me wrong , I have nothing against Patrick ( even if he said many delirious things through the years ), also considering that in a recent interview he finally admitted to prefer Honor to all his other partners . And he's not really a completely useless actor either I suppose , I actually like him in Seasons 2-3 of the "Avengers" as an eternal second banana to his partner . The problem is he lacks the stature of the leading man , and has no charisma whatsoever . He can only be a solid supporting player to someone who has , like Honor or Ian Hendry . That's also what makes so absolutely inconceivable for him to play Bond . Roger Moore sure isn't a very subtle or versatile actor either , but one thing he didn't lack was the screen presence .

The whole thing about Patrick is he has no range , I really can't see him playing any role apart from Steed . For fun I was just trying to figure him in any great or iconic film role played by another actor and trying to see if there is at least one where he would have worked . Hmmm , I haven't accomplished the mission , yet .

These are some people I heard they were considered for playing 007 : Cary Grant , David Niven , James Fox , Richard Johnson , Patrick McGoohan , Laurence Harvey . Now one of these would have made much more sense ! Let's see if Macnee could have played one of these actors' best roles ...

Bond needs tougher performance than the avengers

Is it possible that he was referring to the 1954 version, an episode of Climax! (an anthology television series)? That starred Barry Nelson as an American James Bond, Michael Pate as a British Clarence Leiter (not Felix), and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre.

I disagree with what you are saying, but I will fight to your death for your right to say it;-)

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Macnee is a capable actor, however the role of Bond requires a ruthless edge which is hard to picture with Macnee in the part.

This stems from the fact that he always maintains a charming and congenial tone in many of the characters he's played during his long career. Steed was cunning (and could certainly take care of himself in a tough spot) but Bond is callous in his dealings with others. He beds women for information, and kills those who stand in his way without blinking an eye. In short you need a man who has the ability to woo the ladies and the men can respect for taking care of business.

Bond is a brute force whereas Steed is sly fox.