Finlay Light Interview

Hello everyone, some of you may be familiar with the name Finlay Light. He is a retired Australian model and actor who cast as James Bond after Roger Moore stepped down in the 80s. Light came so close to playing Bond on the big screen, but not much was known about how he won and lost the role until I interviewed Light recently. You can read the interview here: https://venetianvase.co.uk/2023/07/05/finlay-light-an-interview-with-the-australian-james-bond/

Comments

  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 37,798Chief of Staff

    Thank you very much for posting this!

  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,930MI6 Agent

    Very interesting stuff.

  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 22,296MI6 Agent
    edited July 2023

    I've never seen an interview of Finley Light before, so thank you very much for posting. He's mentioned several places as being among the men who was considered as James Bond at the time. The book "Some kind of hero" by Field and Chowdrey says. "The list of hopefuls included Finely Light, Andrew Clarke and Trevor Eve.". Wikipedia says Finley Light signed a 10-year contract, but the only sources are this short story in the Gainsville Sun: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19860429&id=jD1WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4-kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5576,3629571, "In brief" in the Sydney Morning Herald and the interview in the link at the start of this thread. I also found this newspaper cliping from online, but I can't say if it's from The Sydney Morning Herald or not. :


    If anyone else has more information, please post. 🙂

  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 22,296MI6 Agent
    edited July 2023

    The MI6community member named aspydad posted in 2013 that John Glenn mentions Finley Light as a contender for Bond in his book. I've never read the book myself.

  • FinlayLightBondFinlayLightBond Posts: 4MI6 Agent

    He did sign a contract, but once the Head of UA ruled Finlay out the contract became moot. It's a shame. He was so close. As close as Brosnan was to the role at that time, but unlike Brosnan he never got a second shot at it.

  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 22,296MI6 Agent
    edited July 2023

    It's an interesting story. If someone can find the contract it would be a great adition to Bond history.

  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 22,296MI6 Agent

    It does look like what happened to Brosnan is much better documented. Here are a couple of photos from 1986:


  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 22,296MI6 Agent

    I found this article in "Bondage Quarterly" from 1986:


    "AP even announced aussie unknown Findlay Light had been signed".

  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 4,095MI6 Agent

    everybody's been very tactful not mentioning it, but what really stuck out to me was these two passages:

    ___________________________

    Barbara Broccoli, she lay across my bed and said ‘the thing that you’ve got is exactly the same enigmatic charisma as Sean Connery. We’ve never seen that with anyone else we’ve tried to cast in the role.’ 

    ___________________________

    ...and...

    ___________________________

     I mentioned Barbara Broccoli before. I could tell that she wanted me to make love to her, and I didn’t think it would be wise. You’re **** in your own nest if you do that sort of thing.

    ___________________________

    is this all in his imagination or was Barbara really doing the Casting Couch thing? she wouldve been about 25 round this time, I'm surprised she would be the one in charge of interviewing the next James Bond, but maybe Cubby'd already interviewed Light himself and entrusted his daughter to judge the new guy's sex appeal. still seems a bit icky the way Light words it.

  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 22,296MI6 Agent

    I agree.

  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,930MI6 Agent

    I took that with a pinch of salt, and didn't want to mention it, no. Because it's an odd thing for a bloke to mention; it seems a bit of a humble brag, and he seems quite keen to throw it in there. It slightly comes across as a 'of course many women find me very attractive' thing, and I don't always fully believe guys who say that.

  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 4,095MI6 Agent

    yes thats probably all it was, a lad doing lad-talk. We only have his word any of this happened, so it really says nothing about Barbara or her father, and everything about what sort of man Light is. I probably shouldnt even have dignified his claim by quoting it, except it got me thinking about the larger implications of this alleged interview process.

  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,930MI6 Agent

    That's cool; it was a bit of an elephant in the room, I guess we had to mention it at some point! But as you say, it's not enough to make me think that's the sort of thing she got up to.

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