Who will play the next James Bond? Ewan McGregor says role would be 'cool' despite previously turning it down

McGregor says typecasting is no longer an issue at this stage in his career

McGregor is believed to have passed up 007 during Casino Royale casting (Getty)

Ewan McGregor has put himself forward as a James Bond contender once Daniel Craig hangs up his suit, despite previously turning down the role for fear of being typecast.

Now, the Scottish actor reckons it would be “quite cool” to play the iconic secret agent after all and is could be in with another shot at the franchise.

“At this stage in my career, [being typecast] is not really an issue anymore,” the 44-year-old told The Hollywood Reporter at the Los Cabos Film Festival. “Early on, when you start off you don’t want your horizons to be narrow, but I think people know I have some kind of width in my work, so I’m really not worried about that anymore.”

McGregor is believed to have rejected Bond when producers were casting for 2006 film Casino Royale. Whether bosses would be interested in him for future movies remains unknown, but Pierce Brosnan originally had to pass up the part due to contractual obligations and was later given a second chance, so it’s possible.

Other actors to turn down a licence to kill include Richard Burton (wary of risking an ‘unproven concept’ as the first Bond), Hugh Jackman (unimpressed by the producers’ plans for the characters), Liam Neeson (his late wife didn’t want him to do it) and Rod Taylor (thought the role was ‘beneath’ him, amusingly).

Spectre producer Michael G Wilson recently said that he expects Craig to return for a fifth film, despite the lead actor saying during a promotional interview that he would “rather slash his wrists”.

Craig later clarified his comments. “The simple answer at the moment is I don’t want to think about it,” he told The Today Show. “I just don’t want to think about it. I want to think about other things. I want to go home.”