Dick Van Dyke says he had a chance at playing 007

“My name is Bond, James Bond.”

Veteran comedic (and dramatic serious) actor Dick Van Dyke says he had a chance to play James Bond.

Van Dyke, 87, made an appearance on the Aug. 18 edition of Kevin Pollak’s Cat Show when he surprised the host.

“I was doing Chitty,” Van Dyke said, referring to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, “Sean Connery had spoken about leaving the Bond pictures. He had done several at the time. Cubby Broccoli actually pulled me in and asked me if I wanted to do Bond….That really happened.”

Van Dyke, at Pollak’s urging, said, “Bond, James Bond.” Van Dyke also opined about current 007 Daniel Craig. “For some reason he lacks the panache to be Bond to me. He’s a wonderful actor and great physicality.”

The subject wasn’t explored much beyond that (aside from some banter between the two about Van Dyke’s English accent in Mary Poppins). Albert R. Broccoli produced Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the 1968 film musical based on Ian Fleming’s children novel; it was the producer’s final non-Bond project.

The exchange begins around the 28:45 mark below. The video lasts a little over two hours and covers a lot of subjects.

CLICK HERE to see an earlier Yahoo! Movies post about Van Dyke’s comments.