The iconic Dick Van Dyke, 99, told Today host Al Roker on Tuesday (18) why he declined the role of 007 after Sean Connery left the franchise.
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“Were you almost James Bond?”, Roker asked the entertainment legend. “Almost,” Van Dyke replied. “Cubby Broccoli came to me and said: ‘Would you like to be Bond?’”, he recounted.
Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, producer of the musical “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” starring Van Dyke in 1968, believed the actor would be the perfect replacement for Bond.
However, Dick Van Dyke had one small issue with the role. “I said: ‘Have you ever heard my British accent?’”, he joked, adding a humorous “click” to signal the end of the conversation.
+Watch Dick Van Dyke’s conversation on the TODAY show
He also says he wasn’t sure whether his fans would accept him playing the role of Bond.
In the end, the mantle of 007 went to George Lazenby, who played the secret agent only in the 1969 film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” Sean Connery would return to the franchise in 1971.
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