The name’s Goode. Matthew Goode. The pitch? Bad. Very bad.
“Dept. Q” star Matthew Goode bombed a meeting with James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli about playing legendary spy because he wanted to take the role to too dark a place.
Goode appeared on Thursday’s episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast to speak with host Josh Horowitz about his new detective series for Netflix. Goode also shared details about his meeting with James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli in the early 2000s — and why it didn’t lead to an audition.
“It was quite a funny one,” the actor teased, smiling.
“She was like, ‘What’s your idea for Bond?’” Goode said. “I was like, ‘My idea for Bond? We’ve got to take it back to the books. Really, we absolutely have to make this guy an alcoholic, a drug addict. He hates himself, he hates women, he hates a lot of people. He’s in deep pain. He’s brilliant at killing people.’”
Notably, the word “fun” never seemed to cross the actor’s mind. You can watch the clip from the “Happy Sad Confused” in the video below.
Goode joked that he should have added “incredibly charming” somewhere in his pitch. The idea, he fears, ended up being a bit too morose for a callback.
“By the end of the interview, she was like, ‘Mhmm. Next!’” the actor laughed. “I wanted to make it really dark!”
In reality, the pitch is not too far off from what came to be. The role famously went to Daniel Craig — a highly unpopular choice at the time — who took the franchise in a similarly dark direction. While Craig’s Bond films (particularly 2006’s “Casino Royale” and 2012’s “Skyfall”) are widely beloved, many fans of the franchise lament the serious tone of the actor’s take on the character. Craig’s films are big on thrills, but relatively light on humor and whimsical spycraft.
It’s a tone fans may have to get used to. After the Broccoli family handed the franchise over to Amazon MGM, the studio announced earlier this week that “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve would helm the next Bond film. On first glance, Villeneuve’s style fits more with Craig’s outings than other Bonds from the past — films like “Sicario,” “Arrival” and “Blade Runner: 2049” look gorgeous and feel epic while still being incredibly heavy.
With Villeneuve in the director’s chair, the hunt for a new James Bond is on the way. Keep your fingers crossed, Goode!
You can listen to the full podcast episode here.
