IMDb: Reynolds Still Regrets Bond Snub

Veteran actor Burt Reynolds holds such a deep regret about turning down the role of James Bond in the 1970s, he still wakes up in a cold sweat thinking about it. Late James Bond producer Albert R 'Cubby' Broccoli offered Reynolds the chance to follow Sir Sean Connery as the slick sleuth, but the actor rejected the opportunity - an action he has lived to regret ever since. He says, "Sean Connery had said he wanted more money and left and (Cubby Broccoli) came to visit me and said, 'We want you to play James Bond.' "And I said, in my infinite wisdom, 'An American can't play James Bond. It just can't be done.' "Now, in the middle of the night, you hear me wake up in this cold sweat going, 'Bond, James Bond.'"