Actor Mark Strong has revealed how a night out with James Bond actor Daniel Craig before landing the lead role may have jeopardized his prospects of playing a villain in the popular franchise.

Strong has a history of portraying the bad guy in big-budget films. The 58-year-old has played villains such as Sinestro in Green Lantern (2011), Frank D’Amico in Kick-Ass (2010), and Henry Blackwood in Sherlock Holmes (2009). However, back when Pierce Brosnan was still playing 007, he certainly lost out on a golden opportunity to portray one of James Bond’s notorious rivals.

He told the Radio Times, “I had learnt my lines, and I was quite cocky about that. Because when I started out auditioning, you didn’t learn your lines, you just read them with the director. But the night before, I went out for a drink with Danny – this was way before he was Bond.

“And unfortunately, I had a bit too much to drink. So I got to the audition the next day, thinking it would all just come back to me.”

“But when I got in the room I dried. The more I couldn’t I remember the lines, the hotter I got, the more I started to sweat, and the worse it got,” Strong admitted. “I didn’t get the job. It was excruciating.”

Daniel eventually landed the lead part in the film in 2005.

Via: Outsider

Strong, on the other hand, praised Craig, 53, for how he managed his meteoric climb to prominence after landing Bond.

“You have to have the mental capability for it, as we’re finding from all these reality shows like Love Island.

“You think you want fame; you get on these shows, you get noticed, and then the brutal eye of the world’s attention can be really detrimental.

“Fame isn’t joyous in the way that you think it is,” Strong said.

The 58-year-old has established himself as one of Hollywood’s go-to villains, and he recently discussed the significance of portraying characters with nuance.

“When you play a villain – of which I’ve done many – you can make them, if not liked, then at least understood,” he said. “That’s more interesting than a black-and-white bad guy … multilayered stories are much more engaging for everyone.”

Daniel went on to land the title role in the film himself in 2005. (Image: GETTY)

Strong is now starring in Disney’s “Cruella,” alongside Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. While the actor was passed up for a role in the James Bond franchise, he has subsequently appeared in films such as “Kingsman: The Secret Service” and “Shazam.” Strong told The Guardian in 2017 about losing out on Hollywood blockbusters early in his career and how it influenced his view of stardom.

“At the beginning I didn’t know what fame was or how it could affect your life, so I was probably eager to be noticed and try to become well known, because I believed then, like most young actors, that it would lead to more work,” Strong said. “What actually happens is that good work leads to more work. Over the years I’ve been doing it I’ve seen people I know very well become extremely famous and there is nothing about it that I would recommend. I can’t imagine anything worse than being in a position that you’re not allowed to live your life privately.”