Eastwood 'turned down 007, Superman roles'

Clint Eastwood has revealed that turned down two iconic film roles early in his career.

The actor told The Daily Telegraph that he declined offers to play both James Bond and Superman because he was unwilling to step into already established franchises.

Eastwood claimed that he was first approached for the role of 007 after Sean Connery left the film series following 1971's Diamonds Are Forever.

"I was offered pretty good money to do James Bond if I would take on the role," he said. "But to me, well, that was somebody else's gig. That's Sean's deal. It didn't feel right for me to be doing it."

The Oscar winner also said that he was movie studio Warner Bros's first choice to play Superman, a role that eventually went to Christopher Reeves.

"I can remember, and this was many years ago, when [Warner's President] Frank Wells came to me about doing Superman. So it could have happened," he explained.

"This was when they first started to think about making it. I was like, 'Superman? Nah, nah, that's not for me'. Not that there's anything wrong with it. It's for somebody, but not me."

Eastwood's latest film Hereafter will premiere in US cinemas in October.