15 September 2025
Charles Dance has no regrets about turning down the chance to play James Bond because he would have “f***** it up”.
Charles Dance has opened up about his decision not to play James Bond
The Games of Thrones star made his feature film debut in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only which featured Sir Roger Moore as 007 and he also played Bond’s creator in 1989 TV movie Goldeneye: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming but he was actually offered the chance to screen test for the role of James Bond but he turned it down.
Dance explained his agent advised him not to try out for Bond over fears he would get typecast, telling The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “And she [my agent] may have been right, although I also wasn’t ready for Bond. I had the confidence but not the experience, I would have f***** it up.”
When asked if it’s time for a Bond with red hair, Dance replied: “I don’t see why not. Although when I played Maxim de Winter [ a 1997 adaptation of Rebecca] they said they couldn’t possibly have a ginger Maxim. Why on earth not? It’s ridiculous.”
Dance, 78, has previously insisted “actors shouldn’t retire” and although landing roles becomes “harder” as you get older, veteran performers are needed to play “old, wrinkly people”.
Asked if stamina is an issue, he told the Metro newspaper’s 60 Seconds column: “No, I mean, you have to work that much harder, the older you get.
“I just have to make sure that I take the right amount of exercise and look after myself.
“I don’t want to retire. Actors shouldn’t retire. If we retired there’d be nobody to play old, wrinkly people. You have to keep going!”
Despite some challenging moments on sets over the years – including battling the elements on the set of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which he described as “not a great film” – Dance has never wanted to quit acting.
He explained: “No. One year we moved out of London. I went down to live in Somerset and saw spring, summer, autumn and winter – and that frightened me a bit.
“The first couple of months it was out of choice. And then after that nothing was happening. And I thought, ‘Ooh, I don’t like this at all.’ “
