He had signed up to do four films, and agreed to do a fifth. But when the producers changed their minds and dropped him, he said he was "gutted".

"When they told me, I was angry and the conversation was pretty short and sweet," he told Jonathan Ross' TV show.

Lots of actors have been lined up for the role, but Brosnan has said he thinks Colin Farrell would be best.

Brosnan first played the famous spy in 1995's GoldenEye, followed by Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day.

He said he felt a "great sense of liberation" after he was told he would no longer be 007.