Sir Tom Jones was once considered for the role of James Bond.

The singer wrote the theme song for the 1965 Bond film Thunderball, starring Sir Sean Connery. He almost got the chance to play the 007 agent but was turned down for being too famous.

"The only thing I regret is that I'd like to have a pop at acting when I was younger," he told Radio Times.

"My name was up for James Bond at one time, but [producer] Cubby Broccoli apparently said I was too well known for people to believe it. "

However the Sex Bomb star has no complaints. The 71-year-old has enjoyed a successful singing career with 36 Top 40 hits in the UK and 19 in the US .

"Singing is my first love and I'm not a frustrated actor, but I wondered if I could play a role other than myself as I did in Mars Attacks! I don't have any other acting plants but if something comes alone I might have a go. I think I'm quite good. Well they tell me I am," he said.

Tim Burton's 1996 science fiction film Mars Attacks! was based on the cult trading card series of the same name and had an all star cast including Pierce Brosnan, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jack Black, Glenn Close, Natalie Portman and Christina Applegate.