One of the most iconic film franchises of all time almost looked quite a bit different, with news that Michael Jackson once tried to nab the title role in a James Bond movie.

While most music fans are well aware of Michael Jackson’s status as one of the world’s most successful musicians, others might not be too well-versed in his acting career. Yes, while some of Jackson’s music videos doubled as short films, the music icon also dabbled in the motion pictures on the rare occasion.

While his best known roles were as the Scarecrow in The Wiz and as the title role in the Disney short film Captain EO, Jackson also made a few cameo appearances over the years, popping up in Men In Black II, and even The Simpsons.

However, it seems as though the King of Pop had his sights set on some much loftier acting roles.

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As Page Six notes, longtime talent agency and former President of The Walt Disney Company, Michael Ovitz, has revealed how Michael Jackson once shared his ambitions to be cast as James Bond.

In his new biography, Who is Michael Ovitz?, Ovitz recalls how Jackson once visited him in his Los Angeles home, noting his desire to be “the star of an action movie”.

“As he talked, his hat fell into the guacamole in front of him, and he picked it out and put it back on – unfortunately, with a blob of guacamole attached, which began to slide down the brim,” Ovitz recalled.

“Ron Meyer tapped my leg to draw my attention to it, and we all watched in horrified fascination as it slid lower and lower while Michael was pitching us hard on how he was America’s next action hero. Then the blob fell off, and Ron totally lost it. I cracked up, too, and Michael stalked out.”

After tracking Michael Jackson down, the singer then shared his film ambitions with the Hollywood agent.

“I went and found him and explained for fifteen minutes that we hadn’t been laughing at him, but at the incident,” Ovitz explained. “Finally, Michael’s face cleared. ‘Okay, Ovitz. Okay,’ he said. ‘But I want to play James Bond.’ I am proud to report I didn’t laugh, this time.”

“You’re thinly built, you’re too sensitive, you won’t be credible as a block of stone,” Ovitz reportedly explained to Jackson. “You’d be great at it, of course, but it’d be bad for you.”

While we sadly never got to see Michael Jackson as James Bond, it does leave us wondering just what a spy film with MJ as the title role would have looked like.

Check out Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’:

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