28/08/2026
Six men have played James Bond. Thousands have auditioned for the role. And after going through decades of screen-test footage, I've found something that surprised me: the audition has almost nothing to do with talent.
George Lazenby got the part in 1968 having never acted professionally in his life — he lied his way into the room and behaved like Bond until the producers believed him. Henry Cavill's screen test was reportedly brilliant, and he still lost the role for a reason he had zero control over. Even the test scene itself is a trap: since Sean Connery, every actor auditioning for Bond has had to perform a scene the previous Bond already played on screen.
I've spent years on both sides of the casting table — as an actor (EastEnders) and as a producer casting other people's projects — and this is the most extreme version of a pattern I see in every audition room, for every part, at every level.
In this week's video I break down the five things a Bond screen test is actually measuring, using the actual footage: Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Henry Cavill, Sam Heughan, and the story of how Daniel Craig won Barbara Broccoli over before he even read a line.
Whether you're auditioning for a soap, a franchise, or a fringe theatre production this month, these five lessons apply.
The link as usual is in the comments 👇
