Ian Fleming's biography states Susan Hayward was reportedly considered for the role of James Bond before Sean Connery's casting

According to James Bond creator, Ian Fleming's 2023 biography, actress Susan Hayward was reportedly considered for the role of Bond before Sean Connery was cast. The author's biography, Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, stated that there had been talks of reportedly casting a woman for the role of the iconic spy.

This was reportedly years before Lashana Lynch took the mantle of Agent 007 in the 2021 film No Time To Die. It is worth noting that Lynch's character didn't take up the role of James Bond but was given the codename 007.

The biography was written by Nicholas Shakespeare and published in 2023. In it, the writer stated that the film's producer Gregory Ratoff reportedly pitched the idea to cast Hayward in a film adaptation of Fleming's novel Casino Royale.

"Since the mid-1950s, many well-known actors had been approached (to play Bond). Gregory Ratoff had the arresting idea of having Bond played by a woman, Susan Hayward," Nicholas wrote in the book.

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Ian Flemings's top choice to play James Bond was Richard Burton

In a 2012 Variety interview, screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr. hired to write a script for Casino Royale, elaborated on Ratoff's decision to make 007 a woman. He stated that the team thought Fleming was "kind of unbelievable" because he reportedly wanted to cast a woman.

"Frankly, we thought he was kind of unbelievable and as I recall, even kind of stupid. So Gregory thought the solution was to make Bond a woman, ‘Jane Bond’ if you will, and he even had a plan to cast Susan Hayward in the role," Semple Jr. stated.

Susan Hayward was a five-time Oscar nominee for the Best Actress Award and has even won an Academy Award for her work on I Want to Live! Starting as a fashion model, Hayward moved to Hollywood by the late 1930s and began appearing in smaller roles.

She shot to fame starring as an alcoholic nightclub singer based in Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman. She was also a part of multiple hit movies including With a Song in My Heart and I'll Cry Tomorrow.

However, according to Variety, Fleming never considered Hayward but wanted Richard Burton to play James Bond. Burton would eventually decline the offer.

According to Shakespeare's book, there were multiple other actors who were considered for the part. This included Peter Finch, Cary Grant, Dirk Bogarde, Trevor Howard, Rex Harrison, Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Patrick McGoohan, and Richard Johnson. The list also included Roger Moore, who would eventually take up the 007 mantle in the early 1970s, appearing in seven films.

Fleming's agent Robert Fenn told Shakespeare that they tried getting in touch with 20 or 30 people but no major actor wanted to play the role for more than one film.

"We tried 20 or 30. No major actor would play the part for more than one picture and we couldn’t set up a deal with a distributor without commitment from a main actor," Fenn said, according to the book.

Scottish actor Sean Connery became the first James Bond in 1962's film Dr. No and went on to play the role of the spy in five other films.

According to a report by Variety, Fenn told Shakespeare that Fleming was "shocked" when he met Connery, as he did not speak "Queen's English." The author allegedly remarked Connery wasn't Ian's idea of James Bond, adding he was not "elegant" but a "roughneck."

Connery would appear as the suave British spy in five movies including Goldfinger, Thunderball, and Diamonds Are Forever. All his 007 movies would become commercially successful.

"Sean Connery was the right guy in the movie for the right time. If it hadn’t been Sean, who knows? Would it have captured the attention of the whole world?" Producer Michael G. Wilson told Shakespeare.

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James Bond is a fictional British spy working with M16 under the codename 007. Ian Flemming created the character for his series of novels and short stories of the same name. Flemming's work was adapted into movies, starting with Dr. No.

Until 2021, when the last Bond film was released, the character has been portrayed by seven actors in 27 films. These include Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.