Outlander Jamie Fraser actor Sam Heughan says 'it would be nice to see a Scottish James Bond again'

The 42-year-old star Scottish actor, known to millions thanks to his role as Jamie Fraser in Outlander, auditioned to play the Ian Fleming character in the past – only to lose out on the role to Daniel Craig.

However, ever since Craig announced his exit from the hugely-popular film franchise, Heughan has been hotly tipped to step into his shoes.

Now, in a new interview with Esquire, the Balmaclellan-born star has spoken of his dreams of becoming the first Scottish 007 since the late Sean Connery.

Outlander star Sam Heughan says ‘it would be nice to a Scottish Bond again’

Asked what his audition was like, he told the magazine: “I was called in when they were doing Bond 21, so before they had Daniel [Craig] again. I think they were looking into a younger James Bond, which is what I suspect will happen next.

“It was such a strange experience, but I enjoyed it. I went in with a script and they were like: 'We might get you to read something from this scene' but they don’t tell you what it’s from.

“After that I was taken upstairs and I met Barbara Broccoli and Martin Campbell, the director at the time.

“There was a golden gun on the table – I guess from The Man With The Golden Gun? – and we sat around a very large wooden table and talked a bit about Bond. It was strange, as they didn’t want to talk about Bond, but they talked about Bond.

“It’s all very secret service.”

Asked if he thinks the casting directors might return to those who've auditioned in the past, he said: “I have no idea and I think everyone is always trying to second guess them.

“But I think the role’s fantastic and I’d love to throw my oversized hat into the ring again if they are. It’d be nice to see a Scottish Bond again.”

Last month, Heughan said moving to Edinburgh as a teenager shaped him into the person he is today.

In an interview with Square Mile, a men’s luxury lifestyle magazine for London, he was asked if he could think of a defining moment in his life.

He replied: “I guess when I moved to Edinburgh.

“I was living in the countryside as a young child, there were four people in my class at school. And then I moved to Edinburgh, which to me felt like a metropolis. I started going to the theatre.

“Just being in the city was really inspiring. It opened up the world to me, as a teenager. There’s a whole world out there that I want to explore.”

It’s not the first time Heughan has spoken of his love for Scotland’s capital city.

In the past, he said he owes a lot of his success to the Edinburgh Steiner School, where he studied over 20 years ago.

During an interview with the prestigious school a couple of years back, Heughan opened up about his time there.

He said: ”Looking back on it, It was a really good time, a really warm time, it felt like a really safe environment. There was a real bond between not just the teachers but the students too.”