If you’re a James Bond fan you know there are certain thing movies in the franchise have to have — a great opening action sequence, cool gadgets, a femme fatale, a martini (shaken, not stirred), and a handsome British guy in the role of 007.

Over the course of 25 movies going all the way back to 1962’s, Dr. No the role of the world’s most famous spy has been played by seven actors: Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. While fans love to debate about which actor is the best version of Bond, what about the debate over the actors who auditioned for the part and didn’t get it? Better yet — what about the debate over the actors who turned down the role, many times because they were afraid of being “typecast”.

If things had worked out just a little bit differently, we could be comparing Daniel Craig’s, No Time to Die to James Brolin’s, Octopussy? Or seeing how Mel Gibson measured up to Cary Grant in Dr. No? Check out some of actors who almost played Bond over the years!

1. Cary Grant

Screen legend Cary Grant made all kinds of movies over the course of his long career — comedies, romances, war epics — but many of his best-known films today are the spy thrillers he made with Alfred Hitchcock, like Notorious and North By Northwest. His suave onscreen style made him a natural choice for James Bond, and series producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli strongly considered him for the part.

But by the time Dr. No went into production in the early 1960’s Grant was already in his late 50’s and felt he was too old to play Bond. Plus, he was only willing to commit to a single Bond film, and Broccoli wanted an actor who would sign a contract for multiple movies. Sean Connery was eventually cast in the role, and the rest is history.

2. Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke may be best remembered today as the star of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (and “Diagnosis Murder”), but back in the 60’s he had a pretty good movie career going — with roles in films like Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In an appearance on “The Kevin Pollock Chat Show” the actor talked about a 1968 meeting with the franchise’s producer, Cubby Broccoli. There, Van Dyke says, Broccoli offered him the chance to play Bond because Sean Connery was considering moving on after the completion of You Only Live Twice. Surprised, Van Dyke asked Broccoli if his inability to speak in a believable British accent would be a problem, at which point Broccoli apparently recalled his bad cockney accent in Mary Poppins and rescinded the offer.

3. Clint Eastwood

After 60 years of precedent, audiences today may expect Bond to be British, but in the early 1970’s producers of the franchise were willing to consider an American Bond to replace George Lazenby in Diamonds Are Forever. They ultimately lured Connery back for a final 007 movie, but before they did they considered some A-list American actors for the part — including Clint Eastwood. In 2010, Eastwood revealed “I was offered pretty good money to do James Bond if I would take on the role. But to me, well, that was somebody else’s gig. That’s Sean’s deal. It didn’t feel right for me to be doing it.”

Dirty James? No. We can’t quite see that either.

4. James Brolin

When Roger Moore announced that he wanted to leave the franchise in the early ‘80’s, James Brolin (The Amityville Horror, Capricorn One) auditoned for the part and was tentatively hired as the new Bond for 1983’s Octopussy. It’s hard to picture James Bond with an American accent but if you check out Brolin’s screen test he’s not bad.

Producers told Brolin to take a few months before filming began to work on his agility and to buff up. Brolin did, and even bought a house in London. But between auditions and the start of filming Moore decided he didn’t want to leave the series leaving no room for Brolin. Tough break!

5. Sam Neill

Many actors would love to get the chance to play James Bond, but for Sam Neill taking on the role of the super spy is the “poison chalice”. In an 2015 interview with New Zealand's KIIS FM the New Zealand actor spoke about reluctantly auditioning as a replacement for Roger Moore in the mid-1980’s. He allegedly impressed all the top brass with his screen test, except for 007’s producer, Cubby Broccoli. Not that it mattered.

Neill later insisted that he'd been pushed into the audition by his agent and wouldn't have accepted the Bond role even if it'd been offered, both because he didn't want to be "stuck" in a movie franchise for years, and because he didn't think he was right for the part. Timothy Dalton eventually won the lead in The Living Daylights when Pierce Brosnan’s TV commitments kept him from accepting the part. Neill went on to land his own franchise lead playing Dr. Alan Grant in the Steven Spielberg blockbuster, Jurassic Park.

6. Mel Gibson

Australian-American actor, Mel Gibson has been up for the part of James Bond twice. In the 1980’s, the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon star was courted by United Artist to play 007 in 1987’s, The LIving Daylights. Gibson was reportedly interested, but producer Cubby Broccoli was not. Broccoli was concerned Gibson — who is 5’10” — was “too short” to play Bond and the role eventually went to Timothy Dalton. Next, he was considered for GoldenEye, but he reportedly couldn’t make the shoot because he was scheduled to direct and star in Braveheart at the same time.

7. Liam Neeson

Before Pierce Brosnan was cast as 007 in 1995's GoldenEye, producers approached Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List, Taken) who turned down the part time. He later admitted, he "wasn't really interested" in being typecast as an action hero. Ironic, given the Oscar-nominated actor pioneered the “geriaction” subgenre of action movies starting with 2008’s, Taken.

8. Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman’s name has come up through the last several years as a potential replacement for Daniel Craig, but apparently the actor was approached about the role before Daniel Craig was. In 2015, The Greatest Showman and X-Men star told an Australian talk show he was offered the role when Casino Royale was in development, but had to turn it down because he didn’t have time to star in the X-Men movies and play James Bond every few years:

“I sort of have [been asked to play Bond]. At the time I was just about to do X-Men 2 and I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t think it’s the right time.’ But it was not an easy one to give up…I'd seriously consider it [now]," he said of playing 007.

9. Clive Owen

Debonair, British actor Clive Owen (Closer, Croupier, The Knick) was the long time bookie’s favorite to replace Pierce Brosnan. An article in Variety from 2005 alleged that Owen was approached by producers during the lead-up to 2006’s Casino Royale, but turned the part down because he was refused "gross profit points" on his contract – meaning he'd receive a percentage of the profits from each new Bond film. Daniel Craig was eventually cast in the role, and the rest is history. Owen later claimed he was never offered the part, telling the Sunday Express that "Bond was the best thing that never happened to me". Perhaps we'll never know the truth

10. Henry Cavill

When Owen dropped out of the running to play Bond, Casino Royale director Martin Campbell decided he wanted to cast a much younger actor in the role to explore the spy's early years. According to Campbell, the only other serious contender for the part of the younger Bond besides Daniel Craig was Henry Cavill. The actor impressed Campbell after his screen test to become the director’s preferred choice for the film. Ultimately, the producers overruled him deeming Cavill — then in his early 20s — too young to play 007. Cavill recently said he was told he wasn’t “lean” enough to play James Bond, which given the fact that he went on to become the Man of Steel, is pretty funny.

11. Ewan MacGregor

The role of Bond was once offered to Ewan McGregor, but the actor turned it down. In 2006 Casino Royale director, Martin Campbell said "I think he got another job, or decided he didn't want to do it.” McGregor was concerned about being typecast, suggesting that long shoots and "a massive amount of publicity" might not allow him to "do any other work" – though admitted to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that he would jump at the chance to play 007 today.

12. Gerard Butler

As a British actor in Hollywood, Gerard Butler has long been linked to the role of James Bond. He was reportedly offered the part around the same time as McGregor and also turned it down for similar reasons. Speaking with British magazine ShortList, the 300 actor said, "I enjoy doing an array of films. If I was to play Bond, that would quickly stop. How likely would I be accepted doing those roles after having played Bond?" Butler has gone on to create his own action franchise with the Olympus Has Fallen films.

Marena Bronson is the Editor-in-Chief of Fashion and Fandom and an award-winning journalist. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.