Clint Eastwood turned down ‘good money’ to play James Bond – ‘Didn’t feel right’ | Films | Entertainment
In the 1960s Clint Eastwood was fast becoming a household name. He had recently starred in the 1966 Western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. And he had made his mark in cinemas with the 1968 movie Where Eagles Dare.
So then, it is no surprise that the James Bond bosses came knocking to coax the American star into playing the iconic British spy. But they didn’t expect the actor to be extremely reluctant.
Eastwood was 39-years-old at the time and had just released a trio of action movies: Hang ‘Em High, Coogan’s Bluff and Where Eagles Dare.
At the same time, Sean Connery had just stepped down from playing Bond after the 1967 movie You Only Live Twice. The picture was Connery’s fifth film as Bond and was the beginning of his decision to move away from the franchise after spending almost a decade playing the hero.
According to Eastwood, that is when the Bond bosses approached him to play 007. He recalled that his lawyer at the time also represented the Broccoli family, the owners of the Bond film rights.
He remembered: “[My lawyer] came and said: ‘They would love to have you.'”
Eastwood was then given an offer he almost couldn’t refuse.
He said: “I was offered pretty good money to do James Bond if I would take on the role.”
Eastwood must have been offered a staggering amount of cash, considering just a few years earlier Connery earned $1 million (approximately $8.6 million in 2022) for You Only Live Twice.
But the offer simply did not sit well with the Spaghetti Western star.
READ MORE: Next James Bond: Tom Hardy’s odds crumble as Page’s chances improve
Eastwood’s continually growing career also piqued the interests of Warner Brothers and their DC Comics directors.
In the late 1970s Eastwood was approached to play Superman, the Man of Steel.
Looking back on this offer, he recalled in 2010: “This was when they first started to think about making [Superman]. I was like: ‘Superman? Nah, nah, that’s not for me.'”
He later went on to reveal that playing Superman simply was not something he was interested in.
Eastwood said: “Not that there’s anything wrong with it. It’s for somebody, but not me. I always liked characters that were more grounded in reality.”
It was not as if Eastwood needed the franchise work to succeed, however.
In 1971 he starred in perhaps his most iconic film to date, Dirty Harry.
Beyond that, he received Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for his 1992 movie Unforgiven.
