So far, Australian George Lazenby is the only non-British or Irish actor to have played James Bond during the long and illustrious history of the franchise, but a multitude of names from across the world have either auditioned, been considered or come close to landing the role of cinema’s most famous secret agent over the last 60 years.
Dick Van Dyke’s awful British accent ruled him out of the running as Sean Connery’s replacement, James Brolin screen tested for Octopussy before Roger Moore agreed to return, Sam Neill and Christopher Lambert both were both up for The Living Daylights, Hugh Jackman turned down the chance to inherit the tux from Pierce Brosnan, Sam Worthington auditioned for Casino Royale, and the list goes on and on.
However, a very unsettling new deepfake has decided to let us know how Brosnan’s third outing as 007 in The World is Not Enough would have looked if Jim Carrey were to play Bond instead. There’s no shortage of nefarious and downright evil methods for which the technology can be used, but for some reason one of the most popular is to envision a random series of actors starring in projects a million miles outside of their wheelhouse.
It’s very disconcerting to see Carrey melded onto Brosnan’s visage, and it’s almost impossible to look away from whatever his teeth are supposed to be doing. The World is not Enough was released in November of 1999, right around the time the Ace Ventura and The Mask star looked to be reinventing himself as an awards-caliber dramatic talent, but the thought of him inheriting the mantle of James Bond would have been stretching the franchise’s credibility to its absolute extremes.
