Henry Cavill's 'tremendous' James Bond audition footage unearthed after 20 years - as director reveals just how close he was to getting Daniel Craig's coveted role

Footage of Henry Cavill's 'tremendous' audition for the role of James Bond has been dredged up 20 years after he very narrowly missed out on playing the iconic character to Daniel Craig.

The British actor, 41, is among the favourites to replace Daniel as 007 and he has certainly waited a long time for his turn.

In the old tape, Henry did his best to impress the production team as he delivered some of the character's most famous lines in a bid to beat around eight other stars.

The Superman actor, then 22, cut a laidback figure in a leather jacket and with his dark brown locks slicked back as he stared into the distance and said, 'Bond, James Bond', before ordering a 'vodka martini shaken not stirred'.

Henry channelled his inner Pierce Brosnan as he reprised the Irish star's performance as the spy in GoldenEye but it was not quite enough to land him the coveted role.

Daniel, 56, went on to play James in five installments, most recently bowing out in the 2021 thriller No Time To Die. 

His Jersey-born rival for the role of Ian Fleming's iconic protagonist has since gone on to have a glittering career, starring as Charles Brandon in The Tudors and Sherlock Holmes as Enola Holmes in a long list of critically-acclaimed appearances.

Casino Royale director Martin Campbell, who was behind the impressive screen test, told the Express that Henry had come close to becoming Bond but his age had been a problem. 

He said: 'He looked great in the audition. His acting was tremendous. And look, if Daniel didn't exist Henry would have made an excellent Bond. 

'He looked terrific, he was in great physical shape… very handsome, very chiselled. He just looked a little young at that time back then.'

The director added that Henry might now be too old to step into the spy's shoes, despite being heavily-tipped to succeed Daniel. 

'Henry's 40, so by the time he's done the third one he's going to be 50 and anything beyond that's two, three years per Bond,' he said. 'He's in good shape Henry, he's a good guy. He did very well in the audition, but ironically he was too young.'

Martin also revealed that the producers and casting directors listened to each actor one by one before discussing their positives and negatives and coming to a unanimous decision. 

Last year Henry was shocked to hear that he got down to the last two in the 2005 auditions, while appearing on SiriusXM's The Spotlight With Jessica Shaw. 

Matthew Vaughn, speaking on the show, revealed he had a conversation with Daniel about how the Bond auditions were going at the time, and the actor pointed out that Henry was also in the running. 

It was that meeting that put the Superman actor on Matthew's radar, which ultimately led to the leading man working with the director for the first time on the fantasy adventure film Stardust (2007) that he directed and co-wrote with Jane Goldman.

He said: 'It was really bizarre because when Henry was auditioning for Bond, I was at Pinewood [Studios] and Daniel [Craig] was as well, right? At the same time, and I'd go off and meet with Daniel and he'd say what's going on. 

'He said, "There's this young guy, Henry Cavill, who I think they're seeing as well." '

The Kingsman writer and director seemed to surprise Henry when he told him that the auditions came down to him and Daniel, but the producer's choice won out. 

'I was like, "Well, who's this guy who got down to the last two for Bond?" So, that's how I discovered you because you were auditioning,' he said.

'I know that the director [Martin] preferred your audition, but Barbara [Broccoli] preferred Layer Cake, just so you know,' he told Henry, who was sitting right by him, in a reference to his own crime film Layer Cake (2004) that he directed with Daniel in the lead.

The filmmaker followed up to reveal the producer also thought 'you were too young,' Matthew shared, before adding, 'I probably shouldn't have said that but Broccoli's not that keen on me anyway so what do I have to lose.'

On Friday, Henry and his fiancée Natalie Viscusso made their first public appearance since news of their engagement emerged.

The duo were among the A-list guests at the AACTA Awards on the Gold Coast in Australia.

The couple, who have been together since 2021, packed on the PDA for onlookers as Henry hammed it up on the red carpet with a series of cheeky poses. 

Talk of the pair, who welcomed their first child to the world last year, becoming engaged first broke when they arrived together in Australia in January. 

They were spotted taking a stroll on the Gold Coast as Natalie pushed along a baby pram and sported a huge diamond ring. 

It is unclear when the British actor and his love welcomed their new baby, as the notoriously private pair have yet to announce its birth or their apparent engagement.