Every actor dreams of dressing up and doing action sequences like ‘007’ James Bond. Then there’s Hugh Jackman, who turned down the part of a special MI6 detective for a reason that may be interpreted as “unbelievable.”

In an interview with Variety, the Australian actor discussed what could have been. The screenplays were too “unbelievable” at the time, according to Jackman, who was being considered as a replacement for Pierce Brosnan.

Jackman said, “I was about to do X-Men 2 and a call came from my agent asking if I’d be interested in Bond.”

“I just felt at the time that the scripts had become so unbelievable and crazy, and I felt like they needed to become grittier and real,” Jackman said. ” And the response was: ‘Oh, you don’t get a say. You just have to sign on.’ I was also worried that between Bond and ‘X-Men,’ I’d never have time to do different things.”

X2 began filming in the summer of 2002, and Die Another Day was released in November of that year, so if Jackman’s timeline is right, the Bond producers were already looking for a replacement for Pierce Brosnan before the release of Die Another Day. Perhaps they were just doing their fair research because that much-maligned sequel marked the end of Brosnan’s tenure as Bond, but Brosnan has been frank about the fact that he was effectively sacked, and it wasn’t revealed until 2004 that he was quitting the role.

Daniel Craig, a British actor who portrayed the legendary spy in 2006’s Casino Royale, was finally cast in the role. Craig reprised his role as Bond in Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015).

When it comes to his roles, Jackman, whose latest picture “The Greatest Showman,” is set to hit cinemas on December 20, said he likes to change things up.

“But there was a time between ‘X-Men 3’ and the first Wolverine movie when I could see the roles getting smaller,” he told Variety. “People wanted me to play that kind of hero part exclusively. It felt a little bit claustrophobic.”

And by sticking to his guns, Jackman was able to break out of the ‘hero’ role with films like The Prestige, The Fountain, Les Misérables, and The Greatest Showman, which is coming out soon. Jackman made a wise move in pursuing a career that contains a wide range of performances, and we’ve all benefited from it, but most would say that Logan, his final Wolverine picture, is his finest.

It’s worth noting that Daniel Craig will reprise the character for the likely final time in the as-yet-untitled ‘Bond 25,’ which begins filming early next year.