Hollywood legend, 84, says he was tapped to play James Bond in Octopussy before Roger Moore stepped back in

James Brolin dropped a bombshell revelation that could have changed the course of his career. 

Brolin, who turns 85 on July 18, reminisced about the time he was offered the role of James Bond in 1983’s Octopussy.

He was tapped to play 007 after Roger Moore swore he would never do another Bond film.

‘He was out, so I flew over and I met all the people. And I got my apartment and I started working with the stuntmen and Cubby Broccoli hired me,’ Brolin recalled to People. 

‘We hadn’t signed any papers yet. I got back to L.A. to get my stuff because I was going to be gone for a year. 

‘And I got a call saying Roger decided to do one more, and I was out,’ he added. 

James Brolin dropped a bombshell revelation that could have changed the course of his career.  Seen here April 21, 1982

Brolin, who will turn 85 on July 18, reminisced about the time he was offered the role of James Bond in 1983’s Octopussy. Roger Moore seen here on the set of Octopussy

Brolin went on to explain that at that point in his career, he was looking for his next big thing.

He’d just come off the wildly successful film Amityville Horror in which he played George Lutz, the patriarch of the family featured in the film.

‘Amityville was the biggest-grossing independent film of all time, and nobody knew what to do with me, because of the character,’ he noted.

‘I got offered [the first] Superman and turned it down because I couldn’t see myself being hung up on wires in a big red sock. It just wasn’t the direction I wanted to go,’ he added.

And then, after some time and several roles later, he realized what he really loved was character acting. 

‘I really liked playing [Ronald] Reagan. I really liked playing [Clark] Gable. I really liked playing a guy that was going nuts in Amityville,’ he told the outlet. 

‘And I’ve done a lot of different characters that people aren’t familiar with. That’s my favorite.’

He continued, ‘To be a leading man and just looking your best and saying the words perfect, it’s not interesting at all to me. And yet I’m stuck with it, or have been.’

He was offered the role of 007 after Roger Moore swore he would never do another Bond film. Seen here January 24, 1980

‘He was out, so I flew over and I met all the people. And I got my apartment and I started working with the stuntmen and Cubby Broccoli hired me,’ Brolin recalled to People. Roger Moore seen here in Octopussy

‘We hadn’t signed any papers yet. I got back to L.A. to get my stuff because I was going to be gone for a year,’ Brolin said. Seen here on June 8, 2022

‘And I got a call saying Roger decided to do one more, and I was out,’ he added. Seen here June 11. 2024

Brolin has been married to Barbra Streisand, 83, since 1998 and the singer took to Instagram earlier this month to share a rare post wishing her 84-year-old a happy 27th wedding anniversary.

‘We met on a blind date 29 years ago tonight, and we married 27 years ago today. I love you honey. B xo. ❤️’ she wrote next to a throwback photo of the two. 

The couple did indeed meet on a blind date. They were setup at a dinner party thrown by mutual friends.

‘Everyone could see it immediately,’ Brolin’s manager Jeff Wald told McCalls in 1998.

‘They didn’t look up, they didn’t talk to anyone else, I don’t even think they ate. And then at the end, they left together.’

Because of the attention that followed the Memories singer everywhere, the couple would go driving in Brolin’s truck for dates, often driving an hour or so away to San Bernardino county, California with the Ransom Canyon actor behind the wheel and Streisand making sandwiches in her lap.

‘Barbra’s really never done any of that kind of stuff. She’s never really seen that side of America,’ he told the now-defunct magazine.

One interesting tidbit bout the couple is they remained celibate before tying the knot, and he asked her to marry him three times before she said yes.

Barbra Streisand wished husband James Brolin a happy anniversary  Tuesday. ‘We met on a blind date 29 years ago tonight, and we married 27 years ago today. I love you honey. B xo. ❤️’ she wrote next to a throwback photo of the two

‘I have to try him out for at least three years,’ she joked in an interview with CBS Morning anchor Gayle King.

The couple seem to have made up for the years of celibacy before their marriage. In an April appearance on Today.

Brolin revealed ‘The best investment we ever made is our mattress,’ adding ‘We love to sleep late.

‘We (also) do a lot of our work — on the phone, on paper, reading — right next to each other.’