Patrick McGoohan - 1960s: Danger Man

1960s: Danger Man

Soon, production executive Lew Grade approached McGoohan about a TV series in which he would play a spy named John Drake. Having learned from his experience at the Rank Organisation, he insisted on several conditions in the contract before agreeing to appear in the programme: all the fistfights should be different, the character would always use his brain before using a gun, and, much to the horror of the executives, no kissing. The series debuted in 1960 as Danger Man, a half-hour programme geared toward an American audience. It did fairly well, but not as well as hoped. Production lasted only one year and 39 episodes.

McGoohan was one of several actors considered for the role of James Bond in Dr. No (along with future Bond actor Roger Moore). While McGoohan, a Catholic, turned down the role on moral grounds, the success of the Bond films is generally cited as the reason for Danger Man being revived. McGoohan introduced himself as “Drake. John Drake” in the style of James Bond for the series, but while the Bond character was—and remains—quite the womanizer, McGoohan said his faith made him resist having his Drake character fall into the same lifestyle as Bond.

Before Danger Man was revived, McGoohan spent some time working for Disney on The Three Lives of Thomasina and The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. After he had also turned down the role of Simon Templar in The Saint, Lew Grade asked him if he would like to give John Drake another try. This time, McGoohan had even more say about the series. Danger Man (US: Secret Agent) was resurrected in 1964 as a one-hour programme. The scripts now allowed McGoohan more range in his acting. The popularity of the series led to McGoohan becoming the highest paid actor in the UK and the show lasted almost three more years.

After shooting the two episodes of Danger Man in colour, McGoohan told Lew Grade he was going to quit for another show. After the series was over, one interviewer asked McGoohan if he would have liked the series to continue, to which he replied, "I would rather do twenty TV series than go through what I went through under that Rank contract I signed a few years ago for which I blame no one but myself."