20 Things You Didn’t Know About The Living Daylights (1987)

20. “...If He Fires Me, I’ll Thank Him For It!”

Future Jurassic Park (1993) star Sam Neill was endorsed by producer Michael G. Wilson; associate producer, Barbara Broccoli; producer, Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli's wife, Dana, and director, John Glen as the new James Bond. However, Cubby was not convinced and offered the role to Superman actor, Christopher Reeve, who declined it.

Cubby then approached Welsh actor, Timothy Dalton, who had turned down On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) as he considered himself too young to play Double-0 Seven. Cubby pursued him throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but Dalton disliked the direction the franchise was taking, scripts were often unfinished, and he was frequently unavailable.

Originally, Dalton was unavailable for The Living Daylights as he was filming Brenda Starr (1989). Therefore, Cubby cast Irish actor, Pierce Brosnan, whom he had met whilst filming For Your Eyes Only (1981), courtesy of Brosnan’s wife and Bond Girl, Cassandra Harris.

However, Brosnan’s announcement as the new Double-0 Seven led to renewed interest in his then-cancelled television series, Remington Steele (1982-1987). Unwilling to let Brosnan play both Remington Steele and James Bond, Cubby cancelled his contract, ironically leading to Remington Steele being cancelled by NBC once more.

During that time, Timothy Dalton became available to portray the fourth James Bond.