Actor Javier Bardem, who plays the villain in latest Bond film Skyfall, once turned down an offer to play James Bond, but he does not regret the decision.

The 43-year-old felt it was not the right time to take on the role of the 007 agent a few years ago, but he was keen to get involved with the franchise this time around because of the powerful script.

"Years ago, I was. I don't remember what movie it was for. But yeah, it just was not that time. I didn't feel that it was the time for me to do something like that," contactmusic.com quoted Bardem as saying.

"And also, I was doing something else, so I passed. This time, when I read it, I felt that it was very powerful material, and I wanted to join (a Bond movie)," he added.