9 Actors You Had No Idea Almost Played James Bond

9. Cary Grant

Back in the forties and fifties Cary Grant was one of the most famous actors working in the industry, known for his lengthy collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock (he's the actor who desperately flees from the pursuing crop duster in 1959's North By North West).

When the idea of adapting Ian Fleming's James Bond stories was first being shopped around, Grant was actually the primary person that producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman sought out, long before Sean Connery was on the scene.

Grant was interested in the role, but ultimately declined owing to the fact he wasn't interested in making a franchise. Fearing being typecast, would Grant only commit to a single film.