James Brolin reveals how he nearly played James Bond in ‘Octopussy’

Brolin, James Brolin.

The 84-year-old Hollywood legend revealed in a new interview with People that he nearly played James Bond in his 40s, after Roger Moore “said he would never do another” film in the franchise before 1983’s “Octopussy.”

“He was out, so I flew over and I met all the people,” Brolin recalled. “And I got my apartment and I started working with the stuntmen and Cubby Broccoli hired me.”

“We hadn’t signed any papers yet,” Brolin continued. “I got back to L.A. to get my stuff because I was going to be gone for a year. And I got a call saying Roger decided to do one more, and I was out.”

Moore, who died in 2017 at age 89, was the third actor to play James Bond on the big screen, after Sean Connery and George Lazneby.

He made his 007 debut in 1973’s “Live and Let Die” and went on to star in “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974), “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977), “Moonraker” (1979), “For Your Eyes Only” (1981), “Octopussy” and “A View to a Kill” (1985). He was replaced by Timothy Dalton.

Brolin would’ve been the first American James Bond had he been cast in “Octopussy.”

But when Moore changed his mind about leaving the role, Brolin instead landed the leading part of Peter McDermott in the ABC soap opera series “Hotel,” which ran from 1983 to 1988.

The James Bond franchise is currently without a leading man after Daniel Craig shot his final 007 movie, “No Time To Die,” which came out in 2021 and grossed $774 million at the worldwide box office

In February, the original Bond producers, Barbara Broccoli and her brother Michael G. Wilson, relinquished creative control of the films to Amazon MGM Studios for a reported $1 billion.

The news was met with a flurry of criticism. The Post’s entertainment critic Johnny Oleksinski even called the deal “the death of an iconic brand.”

Dalton, who starred in two James Bond movies, said he was “very surprised and shocked” by the sale.

In June, it was announced that “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond movie.

The actors who have been rumored to be in contention to play the new 007 include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Idris Elba, Regé-Jean Page and more.