James Brolin came extremely close to playing James Bond

James told People: "He was out, so I flew over and I met all the people. And I got my apartment and I started working with the stuntmen and Cubby Broccoli hired me.

"We hadn't signed any papers yet. I got back to LA, to get my stuff because I was going to be gone for a year. And I got a call saying Roger decided to do one more, and I was out."

James recalled how the Bond opportunity came about at a point where he was trying to define himself as an actor after starring in the acclaimed film The Amityville Horror.

He recalled: "Amityville was the biggest-grossing independent film of all time, and nobody knew what to do with me, because of the character.

"I got offered (the first) Superman and turned it down because I couldn't see myself being hung up on wires in a big red sock. It just wasn't the direction I wanted to go."

Brolin later realised that he preferred character acting to leading man status.

The Catch Me If You Can star said: "I really liked playing (Ronald) Reagan. I really liked playing (Clark) Gable. I really liked playing a guy that was going nuts in Amityville.

"And I've done a lot of characters that people aren't familiar with. That's my favourite.

"To be a leading man and just looking your best and saying the words perfect, it's not interesting at all to me. And yet I'm stuck with it, or have been."

James is now focused on directing and has various projects in the pipeline, although he refuses to tie himself down to a single genre.

He said: "I don't have any preferences. They're varied. It's hard to say I like a certain kind of thing."

The star will celebrate his 85th birthday next week but dec lared last year that retirement wasn't on his radar as he is still passionate about the movie business.

Brolin said: "After all these years, I feel like what's really exciting is your next idea.

"Film is like the old bread. It's half price the next day. It's what's next that's exciting."