Burt Reynolds Said no to ‘007’ in the 70s
It’s been just over a week since Burt Reynolds’ passing, and fans are still remembering his life.
His career may be considered legendary as it was, but Reynolds may have passed on several films that turned out to be pretty iconic themselves.
In interview with The Mirror, , Reynolds reveals that some of the roles he passed up in his career include those in Star Wars, Batman and James Bond.
Sean Connery temporarily quit as Bond after 1971’s Diamonds are Forever, and that’s when Reynolds turned the role down. He said “An American can’t play James Bond.”
Soon after, he turned down the role of Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise. The role was made famous by Harrison Ford.
“I don’t think there’s any actor who doesn’t think he’s made bad career choices. I was recently with my friend Clint Eastwood, who’s had one of the most successful careers of all. We were laughing about the mistakes we made and he talked about a couple of films he wished he hadn’t made. I have a lot more than that! You learn from it though – you learn to be a better actor.”
Reynolds grew to fame in the 1970s, his top films included Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run, and Boogie Nights. Fans loved his lovable, fun roles.
He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Jack Horner in Boogie Nights in 1997, but did not win. He worked until the end. He most recently appeared in The last movie Star. He was planning to be a part of Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming One Upon a Time in Hollywood. Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and margot Robbie are all lined up as well.
Reynolds is survived by a son Quenton. He and his ex-wife Loni Anderson adopted Quenton three day after he was born.
Micajah McGregor, Editor in Chief of FanFest.com and renowned entertainment journalist, graduated from USC with a focus on Journalism and Film Studies. With an MBA from The Wharton School, he began his career at “PopCulture Pulse” and has been instrumental in shaping FanFest into a prime entertainment news source. Known for his financial analysis of celebrity net worths, Micajah received the ‘Digital Editor of the Year’ award in 2018. He’s also an active blogger, sharing his passion for superhero films and ’90s TV. Contact him at [email protected] for engaging entertainment insights.