13 Movie Villains You Didn't Know Almost Played The Hero

8. Michael Billington Was Almost James Bond Before He Was Sergei Barsov

Michael Billington Sergei Barsov.jpg
Eon Productions

Though Michael Billington might not be the most famous actor on this list in modern audiences' eyes, he has the somewhat inauspicious honour of being the actor who unsuccessfully tried out the most number of times for the role of James Bond.

Though he was said to have been producer Albert R. Broccoli's first choice after Roger Moore not been available for For Your Eyes Only, he tested for four Bond films in total - Live And Let Die (1973), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983) - without success.

Had any of the final three auditions gone to plan for Billington, MGM would have been faced with an actor playing two characters in the same universe as Billington was cast KGB agent Sergei Barsov. The ill-fated Agent XXX's lover doesn't exactly last very long before he's killed by James Bond - perhaps poetically reflecting his unsuitability for the franchise all round.

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