‘Do you expect me to talk?’: Dick Van Dyke says he refused to play James Bond | Dick Van Dyke

For more than six decades, actor Dick Van Dyke has been ridiculed for attempting a British accent in Mary Poppins (1964). Now, the actor, who has since apologized for putting on “the most horrific Cockney accent in the history of cinema” while chimney sweeping Burt in the Disney classic, has revealed that he was in the running to play another British icon on screen: James Bond.

Speaking on Today TV in the US, Van Dyke, who turns 100 next month, said that James Bond producer Albert Broccoli contacted him after his performance in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to ask if he would like to be Sean Connery’s successor.

“Would you like to be Bond?” “Did you hear my British accent?” Van Dyke recalls Broccoli saying.

In the press since, Van Dyke has credited his inaccurate attempt at Mary Poppins to an Irish dialect coach, while also suggesting that the cast and crew, including Julie Andrews, should have reported any shortcomings to him.

Van Dyke continued by saying that he is still actively searching for acting work, saying: “I don’t want that.” [retire]I mean, it’s my life. “I love him.”

The star, who won three Emmys for The Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as a Tony for Bye Bye Birdie, is promoting a new book called 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life.

The star is the guest of a talkative chat show. In 2010, when he was 84, he recalled being saved from drowning by porpoises that pushed his surfboard onto shore after he fell asleep in the waves.

Three years later, he was rescued from a burning car on a California highway, and in 2023 another call came when he lost control of his Lexus in rainy weather and crashed into a gate.

The actor who will become the next Bond movie character has not yet been announced, following the departure of Daniel Craig and the handing over of the franchise rights to Amazon.

Although Scottish, Irish and Australian stars have taken on the role, no American since Van Dijk is believed to have been in any contention. Should he again fail to secure the role, Callum Turner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James are thought to be the favorites.