David Tennant Was Considered for James Bond Before Daniel Craig’s Casting

As James Bond fans await to see who will be the next actor to take on the role in the inevitable 26th film, Doctor Who star David Tennant has spoken about how he was once in the running for the part. The revelation came from Tennant on a recent episode of the Acting for Others Presents… podcast with the actor claiming he was told by a director friend of Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson that he had a shot. Per The Mirror, here’s what Tennant had to say about the situation.

“I never believed I had [a chance] until I worked with a director recently who had worked with the Broccolis, who said, ‘Yeah, you were on the list that time.’ “I went, ‘What time?’ He went, ‘The last time.’ I went, ‘What time? He went, ‘The last time.’ I suppose he meant Daniel Craig, because before that I’d have been a child. I think it was a long list and I don’t think I was ever near the top of it, but apparently so.”

We can only imagine what it would have been like for Tennant to suit up as 007. For his part, the actor admits that it would have been a “game changer” if he’d gotten that role, though it all worked out well enough with Tennant landing Doctor Who. That leaves Tennant in a place where he has nothing to complain about, feeling “privileged” to be where he’s at in his career even if playing Bond was not meant to be.

“I think it’s a bit of a game changer. That level of celebrity. Bond is on a different level. But there is that bit [as the Doctor] where you lose your anonymity, certainly.”It was a different scale to anything I’d done before in terms of just the general public being aware of you. There’s always someone who has a DVD that they want signing. But I’m not going to complain about that, it’s a very privileged place to be.”

Related: Knives Out: Is Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc the New James Bond?

Who Will Be the Next James Bond?

There still is not any new information on who exactly will be playing James Bond following Daniel Craig retiring from the role with No Time to Die. There had been some recent rumors that producers were looking for a much younger actor to fill the part, but Michael G. Wilson has since shot down that rumor. Here’s what he said about the situation at an event to celebrate Bond’s 60th anniversary at London’s British Film Institute.

“We’ve tried looking at younger people in the past. But trying to visualize it doesn’t work. Remember, Bond’s already a veteran. He’s had some experience. He’s a person who has been through the wars, so to speak. He’s probably been in the SAS or something. He isn’t some kid out of high school that you can bring in and start off. That’s why it works for a thirty-something.”

Until a new names is announced, which could still be a while yet, fans will continue to speculate over who will be the person to get the job.