Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has said he thinks the next actor to take on the role of 007 will be male and white.

The 62-year-old Irish-born actor – who starred in the spy franchise from 1994 to 2005 before handing over to current Bond Daniel Craig – said the character, created by Ian Fleming, is “all man”.

New movie Spectre is rumoured to be Craig’s final turn as the MI5 agent, and there has been much speculation as to whether his successor could be a black actor, or even a woman.

But Brosnan said: “Anything is possible for sure, but I think he’ll be male and he’ll be white.”

He added: “There’s wonderful black actors out there who could be James Bond, and there’s no reason why you cannot have a black James Bond. But a female James Bond, no, I think it has to be male. James Bond is a guy, he’s all male. His name is James, his name is James Bond.”

Brosnan stars alongside Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba and Malcolm McDowell in new romantic comedy Lessons in Love, in which he plays a Cambridge professor of English literature who moves to California to be with the mother of his child.

The Mamma Mia! star lives in Malibu and has held dual American citizenship since 2004, but admitted he related to his character’s feeling of being a “fish out of water” in California sometimes.

Lessons in Love will be released in British cinemas on Friday.