Kevin Costner just squashed whatever was left of fans’ dreams of seeing him all dressed up to kill with a Vodka Martini in hand (“shaken and not stirred”) as he has formally denied reports he was ever offered to be in a James Bond film, let alone play the lead.
While the excitement is buzzing for whoever takes on the much-coveted role after Daniel Craig, the “Yellowstone” star calmy shrugged off claims he nearly played the British spy. When asked if he was ever “approached to be one of the Bond or to be the Bond?” by eTalk during Sunday’s 15th Annual Governors Awards (AMPAS), he straight-out replied: “No.”
Even when the interviewer said he could see the potential, Costner merely said, “Thank you.” He then admitted he wouldn’t have known what to do if the opportunity had landed in his lap because he knew his capacity as an actor.
“I wasn’t you know, I mean how I would have handled that too. I don’t know what I would have done. I have a sense of what I think I can do and I think I have a sense of what others can do. I think they picked very carefully… those guys to do that.”
The 69-year-old may not see himself as James Bond material, but his fans think otherwise. Likewise, others over at TikTok suggested he could play a Bond nemesis, with one writing, “He would make a great Bond villain” to which one agreed, “Bond villain is spot on! What a cool idea.” Others thought he couldn’t pull off the British accent and that the producers always hire a British actor to do the job.
Costner may not have been offered to play James Bond but he has worked with one, Sean Connery, in the 1987 crime-drama The Untouchables. In his tribute to the actor following his death in 2020, Costner said, “He was the biggest star that I ever worked with and I will be forever grateful to be linked with him on film. Sean Connery was a man’s man who had an amazing career.”
He added of the late James Bond star: “Sean was a crafted actor who was enormously proud of his body of work, particularly his work on stage. And although he was a very no-nonsense person, he was incredibly inclusive with me professionally and personally. “
Elsewhere during the Governors Awards, Craig teased that the new Agent 007 was in the audience when he took the stage to present Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
Despite the excitement surrounding the new James Bond actor, Broccoli and Winston have remained tight-lipped. They have so far only shared miniscule details including that the actor should be a male in his 30s who isn’t necessarily white and that he should be able to commit to at least a “decade’s worth of films.” Craig played the role for 15 years.
Hence, Costner is definitely off the list from the age requirement alone. There have been names thrown around for a potential James Bond including James Norton, 39 (Joy), Richard Madden, 38 (Citadel), Regé-Jean Page, 38 (Bridgerton), and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 34 (Kraven the Hunter), to name a few. The latter is widely rumored to have been offered the role already, but he has refused to comment on the claims, offering up silence when the topic is broached in interviews.
