Michael Fassbender says he blew his James Bond audition – by recommending Daniel Craig
Speaking on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast, released Thursday, the Irish actor recalled meeting with James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and auditioning for the role. During the meeting, Fassbender dropped Craig's name into conversation.
'I don't know why I was promoting him, I should have been promoting myself,' he joked, though he also told podcast host Josh Horowitz that he never really believed himself to be 'in the mix' for the part.
The month of March brings an influx of movies. Rick Damigella runs down ten films heading to theaters. Craig, who went on to make his debut as the MI6 spy in 'Casino Royale' in 2006, became the face of the Bond franchise for five films.
'Obviously, Daniel did a fantastic job,' said Fassbender, adding that he thinks Craig 'went on to be the most successful Bond in history.'
The 'Inglourious Basterds' and '12 Years a Slave' star admitted that auditions haven't always been his strong suit. 'I was terrible at auditions,' he said of his Bond experience.
Sharing another flashback to an audition gone wrong, Fassbender said he got lost on his way to an audition for 'Mad Max: Fury Road.' After arriving an hour late, he was 'not in the correct headspace' and described an 'excruciating' audition. The lead role ultimately went to Tom Hardy, who was two years below Fassbender in drama school.
Asked if he thought there was any prospect of his playing Bond in the future, Fassbender was downbeat. 'I think it's over,' he said.
But he didn't hesitate to make another recommendation for who could be next at the wheel of the famous Aston Martin, suggesting his 'Black Bag' co-star and 'Bridgerton' actor Regé-Jean Page could be a 'frontrunner' for the role.
Fassbender still gets to be a spy, though, starring alongside Page and Cate Blanchett in 'Black Bag,' in which he plays a secret agent.
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29 Actors Who Were Cast At The Very Last Second
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Suggested by u/bvmse Gene Wilder wanted the role of Jim in Blazing Saddles, but director Mel Brooks thought he was too young. "I need an older guy — someone who could look like an over-the-hill alcoholic," he told Wilder. He went with Gig Young, who was known to struggle with alcoholism in real life, which Brooks thought would work well with the character. However, on the very first morning of filming, Young was dealing with alcohol withdrawal — which was made worse by the fact that his character was upside-down. "We draped Gig Young's legs over and hung him upside down. And he started to talk and he started shaking." At first, Brooks thought this was just great acting. Suggested by u/hedbopper But..."The shaking never stopped, and green stuff started spewing out of his mouth and nose, and he started screaming." 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