Oliver Reed as Bond

DOUBLE-00 · August 2008

Just been reading about Ollie and how he was turned down at the last minute by cubby because he had got in a fight the weekend before they cast him. What do people think about him if he taken over from connery which he was scheduled to do.

A7ce · August 2008

He was a good looking, mean, broody lad in the 60s. MAy have been a good'un bit would have been in the Connery mould, and we wouldn't have got the lighter Rog years

DrMaybe · August 2008

Actually, I had never thought of Ollie in the part, until you brought this up. He probably would have made a damn fine Bond. He even had a scar on his face, like the fictional Bond(although not in the proper location). As for rugged and tough looking, he fit the bill. He started gaining a bit of weight, in the 70s, so he wouldn't have had the longevity.

Playing Bond might have curbed him from making Women in Love, with that embarassing nude wrestling scene with Alan Bates.

Napoleon Plural · August 2008

I dunno, he always looked more like a Red Grant to me. A bit podgy about the face imo. He also turned down Quint in Jaws because he couldn't be bothered with America.

JADE66 · August 2008

About 1969 Reed made a hilarious Bond spoof called "The Assassination Bureau ltd." with Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas which took place pre-World War I. I thought then that he would have made a good 007. He certainly had the acting chops and the sense of humor needed to pull it off. He might have made a very good Bond indeed if he kept his weight down. We'll never know.
Oliver Reed R.I.P.-{

7289 · August 2008

Reed was a good werewolf!

I suppose he could have become the "Pudgy Bond".

I think he was a little "rough 'round the edges" for 007.

I never read that Reed was ever in serious contention for oo7. If you believe ALL the rumours about Bond casting practically everyone from Mickey Mouse to Marlon Brando was touted as a possible Bond at once time or another.

Hardyboy · August 2008

Nor have I in my 25-plus years of serious Bondology heard of Reed being considered for JB. Do you have a specific source, DOUBLE-00?

That said, Ollie Reed was my late mother's favorite actor--I think largely because she loved his voice. I'm not sure I can see him as Bond, though, since even at his smoothest he didn't seem to convey Bond's suave nature. But who knows?

DrMaybe · August 2008

7289 wrote:

Reed was a good werewolf!

I suppose he could have become the "Pudgy Bond".

I think he was a little "rough 'round the edges" for 007.

He might not have got so plump, if he'd had all those beautiful Bond girls climbing all over him for 10 years or so. Seemed to keep the weight off Connery.:))

I think we often form our perceptions of Bond, based solely on Connery's performance, and not factor in the novel description. I find Craig to be closer to what Fleming had envisioned. And Ollie was a bit of a blunt instrument himself.

I mentioned, elsewhere, that I always felt Sam Neill would have fit the bill. I mistook him for a young Connery, watching Reilly, Ace of Spies. Which, is perhaps, why he landed that role.

Napoleon Plural · August 2008

I'm obliged now to point out that Reed could not really have been Bond when you consider how he met the wildest, roughest rock n roller ever, the legendary Keith Moon, drummer of The Who.

The story of how they met - Moon landing his helicopter on Reed's estate and frightening his horses, whereupon the irate actor emerged from the house with a sabre, challenging him to a duel - which Moon took up with charactertic relish, may not be true but most of the other stuff is. Moon unleashed Reed's wild size "He showed me the way to the bizarre - and the bar," said Reed years later.

From then on the lid was off the bottle and Reed would have made Lazenby look like a pussy cat. That said, he prob met Moon after 1968 when he was being considered for Bond so I guess this is conjecture upon conjecture.

DrMaybe · August 2008

It would probably be closer to when Reed appeared in Tommy, as he really hadn't had enough film success to afford a stately British manor - especially with your tax rates. That had to be a collision of epic proportion, those too in a pub together.

It must have been quite a drinking experience in London, back in those days, tripping over some of Britain's most notorious tosspots in an alcoholic(amongst other substances) stupor - Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins, Reed, Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Moon.

Is that how you get a knighthood - by how much you can drink?:))

DOUBLE-00 · August 2008

Narrowly missed out on playing superspy James Bond because of his love of alcohol and fighting. A new biography of the star uncovered a letter from Bond mastermind Albert R. Broccoli outlining how close he came to replacing Sean Connery in the role. Broccoli wrote, "With Reed we would have had a far greater problem to destroy his image and re-mold him as James Bond. We just didn't have the time or money to do that." According to Cliff Goodwin, author of the book "Evil Spirits", "Oliver was probably within a sliver of being cast as Bond." He adds, "But by 1968 his affairs were public and he was already drinking and fighting - as far away from the refined Bond image as you could get.".

I FOUND THE ABOVE TEXT ON HIS PROFILE ON THE INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE, WHO SHOULD BE CREDITED WITH THE ABOVE FACT.

A7ce · August 2008

"Narrowly missed out on playing superspy James Bond because of his love of alcohol and fighting."

I thought that would be the perfect pre-requisite !

A7ce · August 2008

JADE66 wrote:

About 1969 Reed made a hilarious Bond spoof called "The Assassination Bureau ltd." with Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas which took place pre-World War I. I thought then that he would have made a good 007. He certainly had the acting chops and the sense of humor needed to pull it off. He might have made a very good Bond indeed if he kept his weight down. We'll never know.
Oliver Reed R.I.P.-{

I really enjoyed the The Assassination Bureau as a kid and here is a scene from it and the closest you will envisage Oliver Reed as Bond - complete with Tux, Wit and Bond Girl Diana Rigg:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_nnxh8moqA

blueman · August 2008

Reed as Bond has been my favorite alternate universe scenario since I was a kid. Agree he might not have been exactly right for the part (and Cubby's assessment of needing to break down the old Bond and reconstruct a new one with Reed sounds about right), but it's still the best Bond actor "what if" out there IMO. Also agree he comes far closer to Fleming's blunt instrument than EON's Connery creation (not that I'm complaining, lol).

Oliver Reed as Bond

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