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Henry Cavill Was Told He Wasn’t Lean Enough to Play James Bond

August 15, 2021 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Man of Steel Henry Cavill Superman Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Henry Cavill once had a screen test to play James Bond, but the actor recently revealed he was told he wasn’t “lean” enough for the role. Cavill spoke with Insider for a new interview and said that when he auditioned for the role at 21 for Casino Royale, director Martin Campbell told him that he should “lean up” to test for that kind of role.

Cavill said that the words came not from a place of body shaming, but rather “good-naturedly … mentorship and guidance.” He noted, “It was his tough love way of saying, ‘Look, mate, you’re in a Bond screen test. Next time you come to a screen test, really focus hard on making sure you lean up if it’s for something like Bond.’ And I wasn’t by any means chubby, but I was probably overweight for taking my shirt off on camera.”

Cavill was one of two final actors up for the role alongside Daniel Craig. Cavill was Campbell’s choice, but the producers wanted a somewhat older Bond and Craig won the role. Craig is set to make his final appearance as Bond in No Time to Die, which is out on October 8th.