Though several years and movies have passed since Pierce Brosnan played the iconic superspy James Bond, he’s still asked about how it felt to get pushed overboard for the younger Daniel Craig in 2005.

And while Pierce has clearly moved on and starred in some popular films since, the end of his stint as Bond still seems to sting a bit.

He told The Irish Times last week that he would have kept playing Bond, and that Quentin Tarantino was gung-ho to direct Pierce in the role. The two met at one point to discuss a collaboration. 

“I will never forget that night,” he said.  “We drank so many apple martinis. We could just about walk. 

“I don’t know what he saw in it. But Quentin really liked what I did as James Bond. He really wanted to do one with me.”

Brosnan, though, has no regrets, and remains thankful for the chance to be one of the few who played 007 on screen. He did it four times and added billions to the franchise.

“You know, it’s another man’s job and another man’s day now. I have nothing but gratitude for having had Bond in my life. It gave me the opportunity to solidify as an artist and an actor. I had mighty, mighty times,” he said.