{"id":8839,"date":"2026-09-09T22:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T21:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=8839"},"modified":"2026-09-09T22:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T21:37:09","slug":"james-bond-has-to-pass-the-same-bizarre-audition-awkward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/09\/09\/james-bond-has-to-pass-the-same-bizarre-audition-awkward\/","title":{"rendered":"Every James Bond has to pass the same bizarre audition, and it’s incredibly awkward"},"content":{"rendered":"

To be a good James Bond, you have to be charming, you have to be confident and you have to\u2026 pass a really odd audition test, apparently. <\/span><\/p>\n

Right now, everyone\u2019s talking about who\u2019s going to take on the role of the British MI6 spy after Daniel Craig parked his Aston Martin for good in 2021\u2019s No Time To Die.<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been a fair few frontrunners for the next 007 over the years, from Idris Elba<\/a> and Aaron Taylor-Johnson to Jacob Elordi and Callum Turner<\/a>. And the search took on a whole new life after longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson handed creative control of the franchise to Amazon MGM last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

But now we might finally be getting somewhere. Gary Oldman recently claimed the next Bond has already been chosen, saying his \u201cfingers are crossed\u201d that his Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden<\/a> gets the part. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jack
Credit: Apple TV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lowden is rumoured to be a frontrunner for the next 007, so understandably Oldman\u2019s comments added fuel to the fire. Meanwhile, Bond 26 writer Steven Knight has said that the next Bond has been cast<\/a> – surely it\u2019s only a matter of time before we find out who. <\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously, no matter who it turns out to be, they\u2019ll need to look good in a suit, know their way around a vodka martini (shaken, not stirred) and, perhaps most importantly, have some serious chemistry with whichever Bond girl is by their side.<\/span><\/p>\n

And apparently, there\u2019s a very specific – albeit incredibly awkward – way producers have traditionally tested that last part.<\/span><\/p>\n

All prospective Bonds have had to act out the same From Russia With Love scene<\/h2>\n

Forget jumping out of a plane or introducing themselves as \u201cBond, James Bond<\/a>\u201d. According to former producer Michael G. Wilson, 007s have traditionally been asked to recreate a rather steamy bedroom scene from the 1963 entry From Russia with Love.<\/span><\/p>\n

To refresh your memory, the scene sees Sean Connery\u2019s Bond return to his hotel room after an eventful evening to take a bath. But after hearing something and reaching for his gun, he discovers Soviet agent Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) lying in his bed wearing nothing but a black velvet choker.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bond tells her she\u2019s one of the \u201cmost beautiful girls I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d to which Tatiana says, \u201cThank you, but I think my mouth is too big.\u201d But Bond pulls out some of those old school moves. \u201cNo, it\u2019s the right size\u2026 for me that is,\u201d he says, before planting one on her. <\/span><\/p>\n