Once, Michael Gambon almost became James Bond. That was at the end of the 1960s, after his fellow actor George Lazenby fell into megalomania after just one appearance as 007 (“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”) and quit. Lazenby was of the opinion that Bond was outdated in pop culture and was already half dead as a character, which turned out to be a somewhat premature prediction for 1969. So Gambon took test recordings. The Bond producers are also said to have been impressed. But they ultimately decided against the young man and preferred to bring Sean Connery back from his bond pension with an allegedly obscene amount of money.
Obituary for Michael Gambon: The Prankster – Culture
