Actor Clive Owen has revealed he repeatedly turned down the role of James Bond - because he reckons no-one can top Sean Connery
The 41-year-old heart-throb was tipped to be the next 007 before Daniel Craig signed up to be the first blond Bond.
But in an interview with Glamour magazine, Owen said: "Playing James Bond would have been like entering a golden prison, and I doubt that would have suited me.
"I may be the only actor who consistently said, 'No, no and no'.
"I never understood what I would have been able to add to the role, or how I could play a character who has already been defined in the past. For me, Sean Connery is the real James Bond."
Craig, 36, was unveiled last year as the star of the next Bond film Casino Royale.
Another name once linked to the role was Sharpe star Sean Bean, who played rogue spy 006 in GoldenEye.
Bean revealed last week that he and Craig have a history.
"I think there was a time I was linked to it but I suppose I blew it playing 006. They made a good choice in Daniel Craig. He's a very good actor," he said.
"He was in one of the first Sharpes we ever did and I gave him a bit of a battering. So we can always say Sharpe battered Bond."
