James Purefoy on his nearly-man status as James Bond

British actor James Purefoy was twice under consideration for the role of James Bond (prior to the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig eras), and this week he spoke to the Daily Record about it and his devil-may-care attitude in his latest role in 'The Following' as Professor Joe Carroll, a serial murderer and cult leader.

"Like the best villains, [my character on The Following] has a lot of charm and an elegant turn of phrase. One of the actresses said to me that she felt she was doing a scene with James Bond's bastard son. And that's what it's like - he is like James Bond gone bad."

"I still get asked about Bond all the time but I am clearly over the hill for him now. And that particular ship has sailed with the very successful Daniel Craig at the helm."

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