Ben Starr auditioned for the role of Bond in 007 First Light but is glad he didn’t get it
Ben Starr, the voice of Clive from Final Fantasy XVI and Verso from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, admitted that he tried out for James Bond in 007 First Light. The IOI team went with Patrick Gibson instead — and Starr says he’s actually relieved about how that turned out.
Auditions for 007 started very early in the game's development. Back then, Starr describes himself as “just a young actor who liked video games”; his breakout as Clive Rosfield was still years away and Final Fantasy XVI hadn’t launched yet, i.e., he was hardly a household name.
Many years ago, I auditioned for the role of James Bond. I wouldn’t have gotten it anyway—I was just terrible. I remember recording a self-tape. I chose a scene from GoldenEye. And they even called me in to meet the team. I think at that time I had been working on Final Fantasy for a couple of years. But it hadn’t come out yet, so I was just a young actor who liked video games. Ben Starr
Pressure, he says, did him no favors during the callback — nerves got the better of him and he didn’t bring what the project needed. Still, there’s no sourness: he admires the casting outcome because, frankly, Gibson nailed it.
But I’m damn glad it happened the way it did, because, god, Patrick Gibson is just amazing. He’s incredible. Ben Starr
Lately Starr’s been very busy in games — his name has cropped up in the credits of more than ten titles over the past two years, e.g., Marathon, Date Everything!, and The First Berserker: Khazan. He even joked about introducing himself at Summer Game Fest as “the all-consuming video game virus Ben Starr.” His take: if people grumble about seeing him everywhere, that probably means he’s doing something right — “Better to be known and hated than not known at all.”
Starr also made a point about agency: he doesn’t pick which projects land in his inbox, only which ones he accepts. He gravitates toward teams and stories that spark genuine interest, and he’s game for small projects as much as big ones. He claimed he’s got plenty of characters in his pocket already, but — in his words — he’s a “greedy little bastard” who wants more.
The chat closed on what’s next: he kept details tight-lipped, but promised fans they’ll see him taking on a fresh, different role in upcoming work.