After the uncharacteristically dark License to Kill put an end to Timothy Dalton’s short-lived reign as James Bond, and so Pierce Brosnan was cast to play the gentleman spy for the new decade of the '90s. More than a decade before he’d be hired to introduce Daniel Craig’s Bond in Casino Royale, Martin Campbell was tapped to introduce Brosnan’s 007 in GoldenEye, one of the franchise’s most acclaimed entries.
From its opening bungee jump off the Contra Dam to its climactic tank chase, GoldenEye is a Bond flick for the ages. Getting the movie from the concept stage to the silver screen was no easy feat. There are some fascinating behind-the-scenes details.
Timothy Dalton Wanted To Return
After starring in his second Bond movie, License to Kill, Timothy Dalton spent a few years deliberating over whether or not to return for a third one. By the time he decided to do a third movie, the producers told him he’d waited too long to only do one.
They wanted to sign him on for multiple movies which he was reluctant to do, so he retired from the part and the search for a new Bond began.
Pierce Brosnan Was The Top Choice To Replace Timothy Dalton
Before Timothy Dalton was cast to play James Bond in The Living Daylights, the producers’ top choice for the part was Pierce Brosnan. However, at the time, Brosnan’s commitments to the NBC series Remington Steele prevented him from taking the role.
When the time came to recast the role, Brosnan was free and he finally got his shot at playing 007. Prior to Dalton’s casting, the producers also considered James Brolin, Christopher Lambert, and Sam Neill.
Mel Gibson, Hugh Grant, & Liam Neeson Were Considered To Play 007
Before Pierce Brosnan was cast as Bond in GoldenEye, the producers considered casting Mel Gibson, Hugh Grant, and Liam Neeson as the iconic gentleman spy. Neeson turned down the part to avoid being typecast in action movies, which would happen a decade or so later with Taken anyway.
Paul McGann was the second choice if Brosnan turned down the part or couldn’t make the shoot. Ralph Fiennes auditioned and while he failed to become 007, he eventually went on to play M from Skyfall onwards.
John Woo Turned Down The Chance To Direct
The producers’ first choice to direct GoldenEye was John Woo because the early drafts of the script contained a lot of action scenes. With an impressive track record that includes The Killer and Hard Boiled, there seemed to be no better choice than Hong Kong's master of the Heroic Bloodshed genre Woo for the next Bond movie.
Although he was flattered by the offer, Woo turned down the job. As a result, the action scenes from the early GoldenEye drafts ended up being peppered throughout the Brosnan era of Bond movies instead of being put into one movie.
The Rolling Stones Were Asked To Do The Theme Song
The Rolling Stones were asked to do the theme song for GoldenEye, but they turned down the job. Ace of Base recorded a song for the movie, but the producers decided against using it. In the end, Tina Turner performed the title song.
Plus, regular Bond composer John Barry didn’t return for GoldenEye, because he was already committed to two different projects and had a newborn son, so he didn’t have the time to score the film.
GoldenEye Was The First Bond Movie To Use CGI
Computer graphics were used to create the iconic “gun barrel” effect that has opened almost every Bond movie since the franchise began. While this may not seem like much today, this made GoldenEye the first Bond movie to utilize CGI effects.
It was also the first Bond movie to have a completely original storyline that wasn’t drawn from any previous novel or short story by Ian Fleming, with GoldenEye's book being more of an inspiration than a source material.
Pierce Brosnan’s Fear Of Heights Necessitated A Stunt Double
Pierce Brosnan has a terrible fear of heights, so he refused to go up to the Gregorian Dome and other parts of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory for the final confrontation between Bond and Alec Trevelyan. To get around this, Brosnan needed a stunt double.
Minus his concern with heights, Brosnan was committed to becoming the Bond of the '90s. While he was filming his first outing as Bond, Brosnan kept a copy of Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger nearby to help him appreciate the weight of the work he was doing.
Famke Janssen Did Some Of Her Own Driving Stunts
For the opening car chase in which Bond’s Aston Martin chases after Onatopp’s Ferrari, Famke Janssen did some of her own driving stunts, which she confirmed in an interview with Jay Leno.
During production of GoldenEye, both Janssen and Pierce Brosnan were in committed relationships, so the tabloid press took reports of sparks between the two actors on the set and ran with them. Apparently, they never got together but their mutual attraction contributed to their effective on-screen chemistry.
Bond Gave Up Cigarettes Because The Director Is Anti-Smoking
James Bond had started smoking in the movies again after Timothy Dalton was cast. However, director Martin Campbell got 007 to back off cigarettes as he’s personally anti-smoking.
Eon Productions (the primary producers of the franchise) was fine with this, as they’d already been uneasy about Bond’s relentless tobacco habit. This was most evident in the inclusion of a “Smoking can kill” message in the end credits of License to Kill.
The Tank Chase Took 4 Weeks To Shoot
The tank chase in GoldenEye is one of the Bond franchise’s most exciting action sequences. The chase took four weeks to shoot and it was mostly filmed in London, at the new Leavesden Studios, destroying replicas of statues instead of the real ones. When the tank crashes into a Perrier truck, 90,000 cans of Perrier water were used.
Shooting on a soundstage cut expenses and also alleviated any security concerns, as shooting in Russia (with a fully functioning military tank, no less) around the time of the fall of the Soviet Union would’ve required bodyguards for all the cast and crew.