The hunt is still on for the next James Bond after Daniel Craig stepped down.
A similar situation happened back in the 70s when Sean Connery stepped down from the role, but back then, a Kiwi hopeful stepped in.
Roger Green, a rugby-loving, farm-raised Rangitīkei boy, came close to getting the role as Britain’s infamous man of mystery.
He made it as far as getting a screen test for 1971s Diamonds are forever.
Speaking to Seven Sharp’s Daniel Faitaua, he said the audition went very well.
“The moment was good. I enjoyed it. In fact, I said to the director, ‘should I do it again?’
“He said,‘no, no, we've got enough in the can,'” Green chuckled.
The Bond audition is just one chapter of the 85-year-old's extraordinary life story.
Hailing from the Rangitīkei back blocks, Roger was raised on a farm - and from a young age, he loved rugby.
He enjoyed success with the 1958 Junior All Blacks beating the touring Lions in front of a packed crowd in Wellington.
“Like everybody there, we liked our tipple; we liked to drink, and that sort of got me too into it.”
He swapped the black jersey, the family farm and even his first marriage to go on his overseas experience - eventually, making it to London during the 1970s.
Capitalising on his looks, he dabbled in acting - he married twice more and mixed in British high society circles.
“The mini skirts, my eyes were falling out all over the place - it was quite a party scene,” he said about his time there.
But his sweet dreams for adventure took him down a rocky road.
“I suppose I'm lucky to be alive on many occasions; I took risks driving, driving with alcohol on board. I really did push the boundaries.”
A destructive life built on an addiction he refused to recognise. His turning point came after the lifestyle killed his wife.
“She died of it in the end,” he said.
So, the then 40-year-old sought treatment in the US, and after 10 years sober, he returned to New Zealand and set up an alcohol addiction treatment centre in Auckland.
Starting in 2008, they had their first guest in 2013, having over 1000 people come through.
Those who work with him say the centre has saved lives.
“There's a chapter that feels really dark and hopeless, and without going there, we'd never appreciated sobriety as we do, so going back and learning from the past is part of what we do, and there's a whole thing about paying it forward and that Roger's paid it forward ten thousand times over,” Janet Thompson said.
As for that Bond audition - Roger made it to the final two, only for Connery to return.
“I'm looking for a part in a Bond movie for ancients, ancient bond, but there isn't one,” he joked.
“Anything can happen,” he said, laughing.
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