Famous Actors Who Were Almost James Bond

In time for the release of some critics have been calling 'the best Bond film ever', 'Skyfall', we're proud to present a list of famous actors who were almost James Bond, as voted on by experts and fans alike.

The James Bond films have been around for fifty years and many of Britain's top actors, like Hugh Grant and Clive Owen, have been considered to play the world's most famous character. Some of these performers haven't even been British. Some of the stars on this list include Irishmen (Liam Neeson), Americans (Clint Eastwood), and even Australians (Hugh Jackman).

Now, many of the top actors on this list would have made pretty awesome James Bonds. Can you imagine Liam Neeson kicking some enemy butt as 007 instead of in the 'Taken' films? Or Denzel Washington bringing the same gravitas he brought to 'Malcolm X' to P***y Galore? Or Sean Bean being 'Ned Stark'-honorable instead of of the villain in 'GoldenEye'? It's fun to come up with scenes that could have been with the caliber of talent you'll be ranking.

There are also some pretty interesting almost-Bonds on this list. Clint Eastwood? That would have been too aggressive, too 'American'. Adam West? Too campy. James Mason? Way too old. But still, it's interesting nonetheless.

Please rank the top notable James Bond runner-up and if you don't see an actor who should be on this list, feel free to add him -- or her -- so that others can vote for him -- or her -- as well.