Sam Heughan calls James Bond the "dream role"

Speaking to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning, the 40-year-old Scot revealed that he previously auditioned for the iconic role 15 years ago.

"Obviously it's a dream for every actor. I auditioned for it back when they were doing Bond 21 when Daniel Craig was cast in Casino Royale and I think a lot of actors were seen in the UK," he said.

"Of course it would be a dream role and a Scottish Bond, who doesn't want to see another Scottish Bond!"

When asked whether he would pick up the phone to Bond producers if they rang him immediately, Heughan joked: "Yeah, I need to jump off this call because I'm waiting for Barbara Broccoli to give me a bell."

Heughan is best known for playing Jamie Fraser in the Starz/Amazon Prime series Outlander, which recently brought to a close its fifth season.

Daniel Craig confirmed in 2019 that No Time to Die, which is scheduled for release in November, will be his last outing as Bond and ever since, rumours have been flying as to who will fill his shoes for future films.

Bond wouldn't be Heughan's first espionage acting role, as he played CIA agent Sebastian Henshaw in 2018 comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me alongside Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon.

Other A-listers rumoured to be in the running for the new Bond include Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston and Cillian Murphy.

No Time to Die is scheduled for release on Thursday 12 November 2020. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.