Believe it or not, Burt Reynolds was wooed to play 007 after it became clear Sean Connery would not return after Diamonds Are Forever.

MGM kept pushing EON to hire Burt Reynolds to play Bond (he was a hot rising star back then) but EON steadfastly refused such a publicity casting stunt, insisting that Bond be British.

If Burt Reynolds had gotten the role of Bond, maybe Jackie Gleason would`ve ended up playing Sherriff J.W. Pepper!