Gal Gadot's career soared after she starred as DC's Wonder Woman, but before that, she was already making a name in Hollywood as Gisele Yashar in Fast & Furious (2009). Many fans don't know that this was not her first try at big acting roles; in fact, she almost became a Bond girl.
Obviously, Gadot did not get the part that eventually went to Olga Kurylenko, but her meeting with the casting director created a huge change in her life and career as she was cast to play her breakout role in Fast & Furious instead.
Answering the web's most searched questions via WIRED, Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot talked about how she started her career as an actress and eventually mentioned how she almost landed a role in James Bond:
"I was studying law, and I was a model, and a casting director flew from London, and she was looking for the Bond girl, and she saw my card on the board, and she said, 'I wanna see her.' And she didn't cast me for Bond but she cast me for Fast and the Furious. That's how I started. Fell in love and never became a lawyer."
Gadot gave a more comprehensive response to this question in her interview with InStyle. She mentioned finishing her service in the military and her modeling career, and her plans for law school. The casting director was intrigued by Gadot's profile and asked to meet with her. As she was not a professional actress back then, the Heart of Stone star was hesitant. Gadot said:
"I was like, 'Listen, I'm not an actress. I'm here because my agent told me you really wanted to see me, but I don't want to waste your time.' I didn't get the part, but I started working with acting coaches and auditioning in Israel. I got my first role for a TV show, and that same casting director remembered me and hired me for Fast & Furious. Then I started my affair with acting."
Her failure to land a Bond role opened up more opportunities for her in Hollywood. In truth, she might have dodged a bullet there, as the role of a Bond girl remains controversial, which might have impacted her career in the long run. Now, Gadot has starred in several films, such as Red Notice, Death on the Nile, and the upcoming Snow White.
Gal Gadot recently starred in the Netflix spy action film Heart of Stone, and fans are now campaigning on social media for her to be the next female James Bond. The actress responded to it in the most endearing way (via GQ):
"That's very nice of you to say, thank you. I'm such a big fan of this genre, I grew up watching Bond, and Mission, and Die Hard, and Bourne Identity. The little girl in me always wanted to play one, and I think after the success of Wonder Woman is when I realized, 'Wait a second, there's an audience for this, where it's female-led.' There's more space for female-led movies in the genre."
Gadot may not be playing a Bond girl or the female counterpart of the famed British spy agent, but she has produced her own version of a woman-led action movie, Heart of Stone, which is very cool. Critics have been harsh with their reviews of the film, but fans showed more favorable reactions towards it.
