As Dick Van Dyke approaches his 100th birthday, the legendary actor has an update about his future: “I’m looking for work right now,” Van Dyke said, half-jokingly. He is currently promoting his new book, “100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life,” released Nov. 18. Speaking with the “Today” show’s Al Roker, he reflected on the mindset that has carried him through a century of life and nearly eight decades in show business. “I’ve decided people are born with a certain personality and a certain outlook, a certain perspective,” he told “Today.” “I tend to look on the good side of things.” That optimism, he admits, is helped by the fact that he’s spent his career doing exactly what he loves. “I’m speaking from an advantageous position, I got to do for a living what I would have done for nothing,” he told “Today.” “If I had been sitting at a desk somewhere in a cubicle, I might not be so happy.” As he looks back, Van Dyke shared two career opportunities he turned down, but still thinks about one being the offer to play British intelligence spy James Bond following Sean Connery’s departure. After years of criticism for his famously shaky British accent as Bert in “Mary Poppins” in 1964, (an accent he has since called “the most atrocious cockney accent in the history of cinema“), he couldn’t quite imagine himself as the British spy, per The Guardian. “They said, ‘Would you like to be Bond?’ And I said, ‘Have you heard my British accent?’” he recalled. Though he believes he could have pulled it off, he noted that such a role would have been a drastic shift from his long-standing, family-friendly persona, and he wasn’t sure audiences would have “accepted it from me,” he told “Today.” The other missed opportunity still stings a chance to make a movie with Cary Grant. “I regret that every day of my life. I turned Cary Grant down. I don’t believe it,” he said. As for his next act, as he nears 100, Van Dyke says he would like to play Ebenezer Scrooge. “I always wanted to play ‘Scrooge,’” he told “Today” with a laugh. “I could do it. It’s just November. I’ve still got time.”.
https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2025/11/21/dick-van-dyke-turned-down-role-as-james-bond/
Dick Van Dyke almost played James Bond — here’s why he said no
