Michael Fassbender Recalls Failed ‘Casino Royale’ Audition To Play James Bond & Rules Out ‘Bond 26’ With Amazon: “I Think It’s Over”

There have been a slew of actors that nearly nabbed the James Bond role for Martin Campbell‘s “Casino Royale” before Daniel Craig was ultimately cast. Some of those names included Henry Cavill, Hugh Jackman, and even Michael Fassbender.

Fassbender recalled his failed Bond audition while chatting with Josh Horowitz on the podcast “Happy Sad Confused” to promote his new spy film “Black Bag” (cast features former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and rumored contender Regé-Jean Page) where he admits being “terrible” at auditioning and took time during it to promote fellow contender, Craig, which likely didn’t help his chances.

READ MORE: Edward Berger Calls Potentially Directing A Bond Film “A Different Equation” Now That Barbara Broccoli Is No Longer Involved Creatively

“I’ve met with [former franchise producer] Barbara Broccoli just through passing, and I actually went in for an audition phase before Daniel was cast…I don’t think I was ever in the mix,” Fassbender said. “But I remember going into that room and sort of meeting with her and Wilson, and I was like, ‘I think Daniel Craig is…’ I don’t know why I was promoting him. I should’ve been promoting myself … I was terrible at auditions.”

Ever since Craig was having trouble seeing himself returning to the Bond role after a prickly shoot on “Spectre” and a contentious press tour following it, Fassbender had been a fan-favorite name repeatedly popping up on U.K. tabloid lists of potential contenders in the running to be recast as the iconic MI6 Agent. However, Fassbender believes the ship has sailed on his 007 ambitions and doesn’t expect to be asked to be involved with Amazon‘s upcoming reboot.

“Obviously, Daniel did a fantastic job and went on to, I think, be the most successful Bond in history,” Fassbender said of Craig’s tenure and downplayed the online chatter of him being actively courted by the studio in recent years. “That was it, really. There was never a conversation after that.”

“I think it’s over,” Fassbender said of his future chances of playing Bond and doing Amazon’s “Bond 26.” “It’s over.”

Luckily, Fassbender ended up getting breakout roles in projects like Zack Snyder‘s “300” and playing a German-speaking British spy in Quentin Tarantino‘s WWII-set action flick “Inglourious Basterds.” Both those projects helped to thrust him into the Hollywood spotlight and led to his hiring in “X-Men: First Class” as the young Magneto in a string of prequel films.

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Amazon MGM Studios made headlines after spending a hefty billion dollars to get complete creative control over “Bond 26” leading to the removal of EON Productions (Brocolli and Michael G. Wilson). We’re still waiting for some concrete updates concerning screenwriters, director/directors, and who will be playing Bond for the foreseeable future.

You can listen or watch that full interview between Fassbender and Horowitz below.