Tasty, this one. Very tasty. As with all things Oliver Reed there is so much myth around the mans acting career, but considered for the role he without doubt was. In fact, so close was Oliver Reed to being chosen as Bond only a self-sabotaging fight pre-rehearsals meant he was overlooked as Connerys successor in favour of Lazenby. Broccoli autobiography states that it was Reed off-screen image which was troublesome for the Bond producers; With Reed we would have had a far greater problem to destroy his image and re-mould him as James Bond. We just didnt have the time or money for that Boo, then, to time and money. We want James Bond knocking back the Martinis, really knocking back the Martinis, with Keith Moon from The Who. Thats what we want. We also want Bond to double up in Ken Russell films like The Devils, a place where the true espionage training takes place, a place fit for the likes of Scaramanga and Odd-Job. Reed was complex, macho yet soft, full of bravado and insecurity, a perfect fit for the espionage business. In the end, Reed did get a small taste of Bond, playing in the spoof The Assassination Bureau Ltd alongside Telly Savalas.