'It was awful': Sam Worthington recalls trying out British accent for James Bond audition
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA : Although Sam Worthington's life worked out pretty well when he got cast in 'Avatar', one of the biggest movies Hollywood has ever produced, things would have been different had his audition for James Bond been a success.
The 007 franchise was looking for a new Bond in 2005. After Pierce Brosnan, a four-time Bond, completed his run in 2002's 'Die Another Day', producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson began searching through more than 200 actors for the sixth Bond. Sam Worthington tried out for the role of the rebooted Bond in Martin Campbell's 'Casino Royale' before landing the lead in James Cameron's 'Avatar' in 2009. When interviewed on the Sydney radio show 'Fitzy and Wippa', the Australian actor admitted that his "awful" effort at a British accent left him feeling shaken.
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"You walk in, there's the girl in the bed, you charm her. I could get the killer of Bond down," Worthington said. "I just couldn't get the charm. I couldn't charm her. The suit didn't fit, man."
As the interview went on with questions about which accent he ended up using, Worthington recalled, "I tried to do a British accent. I did say to them I wanted to wear the white tuxedo like Roger Moore. I wanted to bring back kung fu chops, and they looked at me like I was crazy." He added, "If I do an Australian [accent], I'm gonna be the next George Lazenby.' He only did one [movie, 1969's 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'], and I didn't want to be like that. So I tried British."
"It was awful," Worthington recalled. "I sounded like Dick Van Dyke from Mary Poppins. I remember Martin going, 'Just do your normal voice, it's all cool, man.'"
Worthington also revealed every young actor at the time, dating back to Mel Gibson and Sam Neill in their formative years, were taken into consideration for the role before the shortlist was narrowed down.
Catch 'Avatar: The Way of Water', now playing in theaters.
