Pierce Brosnan thinks James Bond has modernised.

The 56-year-old actor, who played the British spy in four of the movies, believes the iconic character has changed dramatically since his successor Daniel Craig took over the role.

He said: "It's totally changed since Daniel Craig is playing it. They wanted to modernise Bond. I didn't stop voluntarily.

"We talked about a fifth movie and then came the call that I am out. Total change of direction. That was very hard."

Although he was upset to be axed from the action franchise, Pierce claims that since his last Bond outing in 2002's 'Die Another Day', his career has changed for the better.

He told website Kurier.at: "So much the better how my career evolved. But being an actor is only my second career choice. Primarily I am a father."

Despite his thoughts on the role, Pierce has previously claimed he hasn't seen Daniel playing Bond.

He said: "I haven't seen Daniel in the role. I tried watching it on an airplane. I thought 37,000 feet was a good distance to watch it from and it broke down right at the beginning.

"The attendant came and changed it and it broke down a second time, so I figured, 'OK. The Gods must be saying something...' So I never went near it!"