So as it’s been half a decade since I re-read OHMSS, I decided to pull my old copy of Benson’s Beside Companion from the shelf (not that I don’t trust you StB!) and yes, by the page Gray was cast 2 years and a Bond too late.
But I do like Savalas and within the context of the film, his casting works (as does Gray). Put it this way, if you flip-flopped them and their films, they would both be out-of-place. Savalas, clearly the meanest of the Bonds (I’d offer Waltz, the most renowned actor of the bunch, the most boring). Gray, on the other hand, he wins the “most fun Blofeld to hang out with” award. I mean, sign me up for the plastic surgery - I could lounge around Vegas listening to bon mots and cackling away.
On another note, wouldn’t Gray have made a terrific Darth Vader…(“Oh God, not the son thing again, this is all quite tiring. Tattooine is such a…unimaginative place”).