April 13th, 1953 saw the first printing of Ian Fleming’s "Casino Royale" introduce the world at large to the mythology that would lead to the James Bond movies. 007’s first literary mission saw him beaten and bruised, but ready to start a legacy that continues, both in print and on the big screen, 70 years later. Casting this iconic role is as difficult now as it was back in the day, a fact that the franchise’s long time casting director has proven again when explaining why hopefuls like Henry Cavill and Sam Heughan didn’t make the cut for the 2006 soft reboot.

In an interview with RadioTimes, casting director Debbie McWilliams got to go deeper into the process that kicked off the story of Daniel Craig's James Bond. With eight actors screen tested for "Casino Royale," there was a range of candidates that did include Cavill and Heughan. But when it came to casting the lead to softly reboot the Bond continuity, the approach to the character informed McWilliams and her team in the following manner.