Dick Van Dyke revealed the reason he refused to play the famous secret agent, James Bond.
In an interview on NBC’s Today show, the host Al Roker asked, “You could have almost become James Bond?”
The 99-year-old admitted that he was approached by the producer for the role.
He shared that Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli offered him the role of 007 after Sean Connery’s exit.
Broccoli had previously worked with the Hollywood legend on the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – adaption from Ian Fleming’s children’s book.
“I almost did,” Van Dyke recalled.
“Cubby came to me and said, ‘Would you like to be Bond?’”
The actor told the host he quickly dismissed the idea, joking: “I said, ‘Have you heard my British accent?’”
Van Dyke confessed the role would ‘have been a great experience’.
However, he wasn’t sure if Mary Poppins and Chitty fans would have ‘accepted’ him in that character.
Looking back though, Van Dyke doesn’t have any regrets.
He calls the missed opportunity as ‘sliding doors’ moments of his long and impactful career.
Van Dyke will turn 100 this year on December 13.
