007 Days of Skyfall: Javier Bardem on when he turned down Bond

Javier Bardem told Yahoo! Movies why he previously turned down a chance to star in a 'Bond' film.

Watch the interview below.

The Spanish star, who plays camp cybervillain Raoul Silva in 'Skyfall', said he'd been offered a 'Bond' role before, but felt his English wasn't up to scratch.

"I had the chance to do one many years ago and I guess it was not the perfect time for me. With the language situation it was not something I should have done.

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Luckily he held out for 'Skyfall', and has won rave reviews for terrifying, nutty performance.

He told us he wanted the part to be a tribute to the classic Bond villains of the past, as well as something entertaining in its own right.

"Bind villains are a genre in themselves. You have to create to an homage; something classic but open to modern times. What people expect is the theatrical side also."

Bardem also surprised us by insisting that co-star Daniel Craig is actually fun to hang out with on set, despite his reputation as a serious and prickly character.

"I think he has a great sense of humour and he doesn't take himself seriously AT ALL. [Both Craig and director Sam Mendes] both take their work very serious, but they bring this thing to the set that says 'let's not forget about the joy of it' as well. It's a job, but you have to remind yourself that it's a passion.

One thing he's not massively keen on though is the huge amount of publicity involved with plugging a 'Bond' film.

"[Publicity] is part of the game," he said. They don't pay us for playing the roles, they pay us for selling the product!"

'Skyfall' is released in the UK on October 26.