Michael Fassbender auditioned for James Bond but ended up “promoting” Daniel Craig for the coveted role instead of himself.

The X-Men: First Class actor has revealed that he met with former Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson when they were looking to find the next Bond after Pierce Brosnan.

However, instead of pushing himself for the role, Fassbender ended up recommending Craig.

“I actually went in for an audition phase before Daniel was cast, but I don’t think I was ever in the mix,” he said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “But I remember going into that room and meeting with her and Wilson and I was like, ‘I think Daniel Craig is…’ I don’t know why I was promoting him, I should have been promoting myself… that was it really, there was never a conversation after that.”

He added that Craig “did a fantastic job” playing 007 for five films from 2006’s Casino Royale to 2021’s No Time to Die.

When host Josh Horowitz claimed he could still play Bond, Fassbender insisted it was “over” and suggested his Black Bag co-star Regé-Jean Page. He also noted that one of the bookies’ favourites, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, was a “really good call”.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Prometheus actor recalled his “awful” audition for the lead role in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road.

He admitted that he got lost and ended up arriving an hour late so he was “not in the correct headspace” to start with, but the audition only got worse when director George Miller introduced him to an acting coach who “really got on (his) nerves”.

“I couldn’t wait to get out of there. And, obviously, I didn’t get the part,” he joked. “Obviously, you know, Tom Hardy got the part, and deservedly so.”

Fassbender’s latest film, Black Bag, is in cinemas now.

© Cover Media