Of course, Connery would be cast anyway, and define the character of James Bond for an entire generation.
As recounted in Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury's 2015 book, 'Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films,' when Broccoli and Saltzman sent Connery's tape to the United Artists execs in New York, the response came back: 'NO, KEEP TRYING.'
But before he was offered the part, he would have to screen test, which he ultimately agreed to do despite pushing back initially. No,' they all had a sense that Sean Connery was the man for the job. When writer Ian Fleming and producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were casting 007 for 'Dr.
