Brian Cox always wanted to be in a James Bond movie, so when the chance to appear on 007: Road to a Million came about, he jumped at the chance.

The only problem is 007: Road to a Million isn’t part of the Bond movie franchise. It’s a reality game show.

The legendary Scottish actor recently appeared on The Tonight Show and admitted to committing to the game show without realising what it was.

“I thought it was the new James Bond film, so I said, ‘Oh, finally they’re getting me into a James Bond movie’,” he said, while the audience laughed.

“For years I thought I’d love to be in a James Bond film – it’d be really interesting – and I thought ‘this is my moment’, but it wasn’t.”

Of course, he then realised there was no script, although the people behind the James Bond films are involved in 007: Road to a Million, which was made by Amazon.

For those hoping to see Cox jump out of a plane just like James Bond, that won’t be happening in the game show.

The fiendish Controller

In 007: Road to a Million pairs will compete for a cash prize, competing in spy-themed challenges, which were inspired by Bond and taking them all over the world.

Cox is the “controller”, or the “mastermind behind the game”, watching the pairs travel all over the globe, trying to hunt down the 10 questions he has hidden.

With each correct answer to one of Cox’s questions, the team gets an incremental sum of money.

The contestants travel to the Scottish Highlands, the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Swiss Alps and Venice.

“Each acting as the backdrop to nerve-wracking physical obstacles and challenging missions to be completed by contestants in order to go through to the next stage and be one step closer to the £1 million prize,” the franchise’s website says.

David Glover, founder & CEO of 72 Films, did note that Cox’s role is villainous in the show.

“Like all great Bond villains, The Controller has a love of specialist knowledge,” he said.

“Bond villains will often tell Bond all about the piranha fish that’s about to eat him or the wine he is drinking.”

Despite the initial disappointment of not appearing in an actual Bond film, Cox said it was a lot of fun.

He noted that one married couple on the show “found a new relationship” within their marriage while filming.

“Because suddenly they were able to trust one another after so many years. It was very touching to see so it was really, really interesting,” he told Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.

007: Road to a Million premieres on Amazon Prime on November 10.