In case you haven’t already seen it, the man who has been linked with being the next James Bond for what feels like the past decade, Henry Cavill, has seen his audition tape for the role leaked online.
Well, it’s an old tape from when he was first put up for the role but still, we always love watching these.
The Superman, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and former Witcher star has been in contention to replace Daniel Craig as Bond for almost as long as Idris Elba has/was, and while the latter may have drifted from the conversation somewhat in the past few years, Cavill’s only seems to have grown.
Now a fully-fledged Hollywood star, his career’s come a long way since the days of his long-haired audition for 007 nearly two whole decades ago…
He was given three different variations of scenes to perform. Director Martin Campbell can be heard saying his audition was “tremendous”.
Yes, what you see above is a video by YouTuber Ron South revealing Henry Cavill’s audition for Casino Royale: a remake of the 1967 original film released back in 2006 which effectively rebooted Bond for the modern, more serious era.
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Uploaded from an original VHS audition tape filmed just a decade into Barbara Broccoli and co’s tenure in charge of the franchise, having taken over from her father in 1995 (we have no idea how he got his hands on, so don’t ask), you get to see a good seven minutes of Henry Cavill as James Bond.
The first thing to note is that besides the flowing mane of dark hair, the soon-to-be leading man was much younger during this recording; he was just 22 when the tape was made and considered too young for the part at the time.
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Ironically, many believe Cavill might be at the very least verging on too old, even though all three of Pierce Brosnan (42), Roger Moore (45) and Timothy Dalton (41 – the same age) were older than him when they first took up the tuxedo and very specific taste for martinis.
Regardless of whether he is the ‘right age’ now or not, the clips being leaked online have divided opinion, to say the least, with many suggesting that while he may not have been ready for the role then, he and his acting chops have matured significantly in the 20 years that have passed.
Henry is barely suited to ACTING if we’re keeping it real
It’s also worth stating that opinions are just that and some are definitely less popular than others; for instance, many in the comments underneath social media posts said Daniel Craig – the man who famously did get the job back in 2006 – was “overrated” and “only had one good film.”
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Come on, Craig wasn’t even our first Bond and you’ve got to admit even if he isn’t your favourite, he was excellent and gave the series a refreshing, grittier spin.
But wait, we haven’t even got to the best part yet: Ron South has also uploaded four other actors’ James Bond audition tapes besides Henry Cavill which you can find HERE – all of which give off a very different vibe. The question is, were any of them right for the iconic character, or are they perhaps now?
What did you make of this glimpse at Henry Cavill as James Bond in his old audition tape and you think he’s still the ‘favourite’ in your eyes for the world’s most famous spy?
Featured Images — EON Productions Limited/MGM/Ron South (via YouTube)
TV & Showbiz
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Sir Patrick Stewart’s farewell performance will be in Avengers: Doomsday, which is being released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026
Featured Image – Gage Skidmore (via Flickr)
TV & Showbiz
James Acaster reveals eerie song all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable
Emily Sergeant
James Acaster has revealed the eerie (and pretty surprising) song that all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable.
In case you’ve been living comfortably under a rock, you’ll probably be aware that comedian James Acaster is currently a contestant on this current season of BBC‘s smash-hit reality TV competition show, The Celebrity Traitors – a show that viewers in their millions are tuning into each week, with some big names on the cast.
Acaster is currently (spoiler alert… but it shouldn’t be at this point, we are several weeks in after all) one of three Traitors competing on the show, and he’s doing a pretty good job at it.
But we wonder how much of his success can be put down to the producers’ love of a certain song they like to play before every roundtable? Probably next to none, but it’s surprising to find out how much of an integral role the tune plays though.
The song we’re referring to here, it has been revealed, is ‘The Hanging Tree’ – a folk ballad made popular by The Hunger Games.
‘The Hanging Tree’, composed by James Newton Howard and Suzanne Collins, was famously sung by Jennifer Lawrence’s character Katniss Everdeen in the third instalment of the film franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.
The lyrics are as follows:
Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where they strung up a man They say who murdered three? Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met at midnight In the hanging tree
So, as you can see, the song does make reference to ‘murder’, which is a key part of The Traitors game (not real murder, of course), but even with that context, we’re still not sure why the producers are keen to play it out before every roundtable.
During a viral TikTok clip from an on-stage Q&A this week, Acaster revealed the song’s usage to the audience: “You all walk in silence down the corridor, and you all sit down, and they don’t announce it’s gonna happen.
“The first time this will completely blindside you, but they do it every single roundtable. They play that song from The Hunger Games, that ‘coming to the tree’ song. Like acapella, Jennifer Lawrence.”
He continued: “It was every f***ing time, it was the only song we heard the whole time we were in there, and all day I would have it in my head constantly, everyone would, I’d go ‘have you got coming to the tree in your head?’ and they’d go ‘yes, it’s in my head, again’.”
Viewers who watch the show may have spotted the song being played in the background or transition between certain scenes, but now it’s been revealed that the contestants hear it too.
Who would’ve thought?
Featured Image – Euan Cherry / BBC / Studio Lambert
Danny Jones -
11th February 2025 
