Rebooting an older topic!
Dr. No could've been titled
You'll Never No ... if there had been no Connery, who knows? Perhaps an unknown or an established actor could've run with the role. I just finished a book The Drunkard's Walk about the mathematics of probability and how chance plays into our lives. Among its examples are two that stand out: 1/ Bruce Willis. If he had not been in the right place at the right time, he wouldn't have been offered the role in his first TV series, which launched his star; 2/ Bill Gates. A similar story, if had grown up somewhere else or happened not to read about this or that operating system, and other 'coincidences' perhaps we would not have heard of him, and another computer guy would've founded 'Microsoft.' The author, btw, concludes that while chance is important it seems that never giving up plays a great part in the game of life. If C. K. Rowlings or Stephen King had given up after the first half a dozen rejection slips, 'you'll never No.' Lots of famous authors have received dozens of rejections. Returning to topic, if Connery had not been chosen but all the other elements were in place, it's possible Bond would've become an icon in that alternate universe. The direction, the screenplay, the music, blah blah created a unique cinematic universe and a different actor could possibly have been a great Bond. On a sub-subject, Connery certainly had much to do with Bond's success; but it was the filmmakers who took the financial risks.
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