Connery eyes 007 villain role

LONDON, March 28 (UPI) -- Scottish actor Sean Connery told a British newspaper he would like to play a villain in an upcoming James Bond picture.

Connery, 77, played the iconic superagent in the movies "Dr. No," "From Russia With Love," "Goldfinger," "Thunderball," "You Only Live Twice," "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Never Say Never Again," but retired from film acting in 2006.

"I wouldn't mind coming back as a Bond villain," he told The Daily Telegraph. "But I don't think they would pay me enough money."

Connery said he thought Daniel Craig, the "Casino Royale" star who will play Bond in the next several 007 films, "is a terrific choice."

"I think they're going back to a more realistic type of Bond movie as I don't think they could have gone much further with the special effects," Connery said. "They don't pay the money for the other parts, only for the Bond character, although that wasn't the case when I was doing it."