Mel Gibson Was Too Short to Play James Bond

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Mel Gibson has a big personality, so it's easy to forget he's only 5 foot 9 inches. It's not really a big deal to us, but his shortness was part of what lost him the James Bond role, sources said. Though, the producer of the 007 flicks thought he was also too famous for the role. So, we got Daniel Craig instead.

Mel Gibson (Getty Images)
Scriptwriter Tom Mankiewicz, who wrote James Bond favorites The Man With The Golden Gun and Live And Let Die, said: “At one point Mel Gibson wanted to play Bond. And [the producer] Cubby was against it. Cubby first of all had a thing about tall people. Bond had to be tall. And so Mel Gibson was too short. But he was a big star.

Somebody at United Artists said to me, 'Call him and tell him Mel Gibson would be great.' And Cubby said, 'I don't want to make a Mel Gibson movie, I want to make a James Bond movie.'”

While Mel was desperate to portray James Bond, fellow Hollywood star Gerard Butler recently insisted he would never want to take on the role. He said:
I enjoy doing an array of films. If I was to play Bond, that would quickly stop. How likely would I be accepted doing those roles after having played Bond? People outside of movies think it would be amazing to play 007, but as an actor you think, 'Well I don't know because from then on…'

You do a lot of movies as Bond and you'd become even more synonymous with the role. I think Daniel Craig is a great Bond and good for him, but I would much rather create a role from nothing.See more pictures of Mel Gibson here (click any picture):

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