‘I said no’: Aussie screen legend Bryan Brown admits he knocked back 007 but said yes to a movie shot in WA

Aussie screen legend Bryan Brown didn’t think twice about coming to WA to star in Bruce Beresford’s latest film, The Travellers — unlike that time he was asked to play one of the most iconic characters in cinema. “I was asked whether I was interested in being James Bond, and I said no,” Brown confided to The West Australian. Legendary Bond producer Barbara Broccoli liked Brown for the role of 007, having admired his work in the 1990 drama, Blood Oath. “They approached me after that to ask was I interested, but I wasn’t,” the 78-year-old said. “I have said no to a number of movies ... not because of price or anything, but because I’ll be away from home for too long.” That wasn’t the case for The Travellers, which sees him play the doddery but proud Fred, a recent widower struggling to adapt to life on his own, much to the concern of his adult kids, played by Luke Bracey (Point Break) and Susie Porter (Wentworth). The new film, which was shot on location in York, Guildford and Fremantle, sees Brown reunited with Beresford after the pair collaborated on the classic Aussie film, Breaker Morant. Beresford, best known for directing the Oscar best picture winner Driving Miss Daisy, said Brown was an easy casting decision for the 1980 biographical war drama. “I knew he could act,” Beresford told The West Australian. “He was the kind of actor I like because he made everything sound real, and I thought, ‘Gosh, even if we had terrible dialogue, he’d make it sound good, that’s the kind of actor I need’.” Turns out the director wasn’t the only one with concerns about the Breaker Morant script. “I was a bit worried, because I had to throw out these one liners,” Brown recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh, Jesus, I’m becoming repetitive here, all I do is throw out one liners, it’ll be the last movie I ever do’. “Then the movie came out and people laughed at those one liners, and I thought that was pretty good.” Breaker Morant kicked off a run of leading roles for Brown that helped him crack Hollywood, from the thriller F/X, opposite Brian Dennehy, to starring alongside Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Later he’d play the antagonist in Two Hands, the beloved Australian crime comedy starring Travellers co-star Porter and the late, great Heath Ledger. Ledger’s tragic death robbed the world of what the young WA actor’s limitless potential may have become, but Brown and Beresford are less enthusiastic about the potential of AI in the movie business. Actors around the world reacted with emotions ranging from disquiet to outrage at the news a UK company had developed the first AI actor, which it called Tilly Norwood. “I don’t think it would be anywhere near as interesting for people to watch AI actors when you’ve got real actors,” Beresford said. “I’m sure that AI is going to be able to make a voice, make a look and everything else, but I’m not sure it’s able to bring the humanity that we have,” Brown added. Humanity is at the core of The Travellers, a story Beresford wrote about his own experience of losing a parent, and Brown could not be prouder to bring the director’s 34th film to the big screen. “That’s a lot of movies, he’s far more intelligent than you think he is,” Brown quipped. The Travellers opens in cinemas Thursday.