I used to know that Richard Burton had refused to play 007, but he did not explain why. I only recently learned that he had been invited before the movie 007 was released, and it was actually as early as 59 years.
I guess the reason for inviting him to appear in Bond is probably because of the great success of his "Looking Back Anger" this year, which made him famous again after 6 years of bad movies in Hollywood, winning consecutive Golden Globe Awards and British films. Two nominations for the Academy Awards-at this time he is already the leader of the British generation of actors.
At the age of 34, Burton was an ideal candidate for Mr. Bond. He was handsome, masculine, and had a traditional British face. He could well represent the classic British image.
However, the reason why he refused to play 007 was that the pay was too low and he didn't accept it.
I couldn't help laughing after reading it. This reason was really Burton. I believe this is not a fabrication, because it fits his personality too much.
As the most expensive actor in the 1960s, Burton has never chosen a script, but he is the most diligent of the same actor of the same age, making 2.5 movies a year on average, with every 10 movies Only the probability of two good films is counted, and the number of bad films and mediocre ones he made is very staggering. I think he can be called the king of bad movies of that era.
The main reason is one. Before the 1980s, in addition to friendly guest appearances, he was basically the first protagonist as long as he played the lead role. He basically didn't match with stars who are bigger than him. This can ensure that he gets the highest salary. .
He also confessed that he would not choose the script, as long as he paid the money to shoot everything; they (and Taylor) could dance for the money; most of the films he made were rubbish and not worth watching.
Therefore, he is a genius who is full of money and has no lofty pursuit or awe of art. He is a genius who only takes the celebrities and knights and is ruined by fame and fortune. This summary is not wrong at all.
As a result, 007's filmmakers couldn't afford Burton, so they hired Sean Connery, who was not well-known in the early 1960s, so the starring Sean Connery was cheaper. 007 made him an instant hit and ranks among the top movie stars. I have to say that the luck of an actor is really important.
But having said that, I think it is a good thing that Burton was not invited. He might not be better than Connery, even I think it is not as good as Connery.
Because his temperament is totally incompatible with Mr. Bond. His looks and eyes looked majestic, wise, solemn and inaccessible. In addition, he is also very good at acting decadence and madness, because he is very gloomy and lonely, extremely dangerous temperament, and he looks like the sea before the storm is about to come.
He can't adapt to the Bond-style romantic love at all. Although he is known for his romantic love in reality, he is completely the opposite when acting.
Looking at his successful works, the characters are basically emperors, generals, clergy, professors, doctors, military officers, and of course two very successful spies.
These two British spies are also traditional, very different from Bond's fictional type. One is the gloomy and decadent Mr. Limas in "Berlin Bournemouth", and the other is the wise and determined Major Smith in "Blood Stained Snow Mountain Castle". For this film, he received a high price of 1 million US dollars.
Only Major Smith has the element of romantic love, but the romantic night between him and the beautiful spy in the snowy night wooden house is not good at all, it seems that there is no need for flower arrangements, because he is too serious. In addition, the person wearing winter clothes is slightly chubby, which makes him appear sluggish, and he does not have the agile, chic, and suave feeling of Bond.
Burton is most suitable for acting in movies based on dramas, because these kinds of movies are characterized by large-scale lines, which are quite a test of line skills, but a dramatic genius like him is just as easy to perform and unrestrained.
Even if the action film "Blood Stained Snow Mountain Fortress" does not require a large line, his most brilliant play is still the one in the underground conference hall of the Eagle Castle from the Nazi generals through purely verbal deception. The drama of getting the spy list.
In this play, he played Major Smith wearing a Nazi military uniform and an edelweiss mountain hat, wandering with a gun among a group of ghostly spies and officers, and said lines for more than ten minutes. . Every sentence is up and down, leisurely, and meaningful. With his famous golden voice, it is simply an audio-visual feast, so enjoyable.
Therefore, Burton is not unsuitable for acting as a spy, but he is a traditional classic actor, not very suitable for the spy with less lines and more actions in commercial films.
Moreover, his health is not good. He has diseases in his cervical and lumbar spine, shoulders, arms, legs and feet, which makes him difficult every time he climbs up and down in action movies, so that the heroine in "Blood Stained Snow Mountain Fort" takes him from When the window sill was pulled up, he gasped and said, "Oh my God, I really took my life!" The hostess sympathized, "You are a little old, and you are not suitable for this kind of work."
So, it's not regretful that he didn't play 007.
Another interesting fact:
When filming the scene where a bomb was installed on the roadside on the way to Eagle Castle, Burton was drunk and swayed. Grint Eastwood had already installed the bomb there, but he refused to do anything. .
The director asked why, he said bluntly, "I'm afraid."
The director asked him why he was afraid, and he said, "I don't touch high explosives."
In fact, this is just a prop with a timer on top of a piece of wood...
The director was helpless, and tried to make the drunk believe that this was not a real bomb but just a piece of wood. He kept repeating "I don't touch high explosives."
In the end, the director was completely gone, so he had to send someone to bring Tyler from the hotel to the rescue. After Taylor came over, he yelled at him far away: "Idiot, this is just a piece of wood!"
In the end, Burton finally bit the bullet and set the bomb in fear under Taylor's scolding...
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