‘Look, if Daniel [Craig] didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond,’ director Martin Campbell said

Casino Royale director Martin Campbell has revealed that Superman star Henry Cavill gave a “tremendous” audition to play James Bond.

Cavill auditioned for the 2006 franchise reboot, which, of course, went to Daniel Craig. Craig went on to reprise his role in four subsequent films: Quantum of Solace (2009), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021).

In a new interview, Campbell told The Daily Express that Cavill “looked great in the audition. His acting was tremendous.

“And look, if Daniel didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond. He looked terrific, he was in great physical shape…very handsome, very chiseled. He just looked a little young at that time back then.”

Cavill, 40, would have been around 22 at the time of his audition while Craig, 55, was 38 in the film that relaunched the 007 franchise.

“The way they work with Bond, and it’s pretty terrific, is when they decide on the actor and you audition — in our case, it was eight people – it’s very democratic,” Campbell explained of the casting process.

“You sit around a table, eight or nine of you. It was myself and the producers, casting director, etc. And you go through the eight people and you put your hand up as you talk through each person and ultimately everybody has to be unanimous in their decision, if you see what I mean.”

“Ironically,” Campbell said, Cavill may now be too old for a second run at the secret agent following Craig’s retirement with No Time to Die.

“By the time Daniel got to [No Time To Die], really he was at an age where one more would have been too old for him,” the director said.

“I know with Pierce [Brosnan] he had to sign on to three when we did him. So that’s going to take, what, six years of your life maybe? I suspect Daniel [had] the same deal. And the next guy’s going to have to do that.

“Henry’s 40, so by the time he’s done the third one he’s going to be 50 and anything beyond that’s two, three years per Bond,” Campbell added. “He’s in good shape Henry, he’s a good guy. He did very well in the audition, but ironically he was too young.”

Cavill went on to land the role of DC’s Superman in 2013’s Man of Steel. He reprised his role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017) (and its 2021 director’s cut).

The search for the next 007 is currently ongoing. Casting director Debbie McWilliams recently ruled out younger actors from the role as they “didn’t have the mental capacity” for the iconic part.