Oliver Reed "Tommy". With their reckless lifestyles Reed and Moon had much in common, and both cited the hard drinking actor Robert Newton as a role model. Christopher Lee, a friend and colleague of Reed, commented on his alcoholism in 2014: "when he started, after [drink] number eight, he became a complete monster. It was awful to see." Reed was often irritated that his appearances on TV talk shows concentrated on his drinking feats rather than his latest films and acting career. On 26 September 1975, in front of a speechless Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show", the bellicose Reed had a
Oliver Reed in the controversial film "The Devils" (1971), directed by Russell with Vanessa Redgrave. An anecdote holds that Reed could have been chosen to play James Bond. In 1969, Bond franchise producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were looking for a replacement for Sean Connery and Reed (who had recently played a resourceful killer in "The Assassination Bureau") was mentioned as a possible choice for the role. Whatever the reason, Reed was never to play Bond. After Reed's death, the "Guardian Unlimited" called the casting decision, "One of the great missed opportunities of post-war British movie history." He made a