Where to watch The Living Daylights (1987)

Trivia & production notes

• Timothy Dalton drew inspiration directly from Ian Fleming's original Bond novels rather than studying Roger Moore's portrayal, reading the books to find a version of the character he felt had never been properly shown on screen.
• Pierce Brosnan was offered the role after a three-day screen test, but NBC exercised a last-minute contract option on his television series Remington Steele just before it was set to expire, forcing producer Albert Broccoli to withdraw the offer.
• Roger Moore, who had played Bond for 12 years across seven films, chose to retire from the role rather than continue, as he would have been 59 years old by the film's release.
• Producer Albert Broccoli was initially reluctant to cast Timothy Dalton due to the actor's publicly stated lack of interest in the role, but agreed to meet him at the urging of his wife Dana.
• Timothy Dalton made his final decision to accept the Bond role while alone at Miami airport, calling the producers from his hotel room to confirm he would take the job.
• Sam Neill auditioned for Bond and was strongly championed by co-producer Michael G. Wilson and director John Glen, but Albert Broccoli opposed the casting, and Neill later stated he had never actually wanted the role.
• MGM/UA Communications chairman Jerry Weintraub suggested casting Mel Gibson on a two-picture deal worth $10 million, but producer Albert Broccoli declined the proposal.
• Robert Bathurst was brought in to audition for Bond as part of what he believes was a manipulation tactic to convince Timothy Dalton to accept the role by making him think other actors were still being seriously considered.
• Morten Harket, lead singer of the Norwegian band a-ha who performed the film's title song, turned down a minor role as a henchman because he felt the producers wanted to cast him for his fame rather than his acting ability.
• The macaw featured in the kitchen scene at MI6 headquarters was a callback to a previous Bond film, carried over from For Your Eyes Only 's production.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article The Living Daylights, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.