Some were surprised to find out that Emmy-winning Succession star Brian Cox‘s next project was the competition reality show 007: Road to a Million. As it turns out, Cox was one of those people.

On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night, the legendary character actor said he thought he was signing up for a Bond movie when he agreed to play the Amazon show’s mysterious Controller.

“I said, ‘They’re finally getting me in a James Bond movie,’ so I said, ‘Yes, of course!'” Cox said to laughs. Alas, “There was no script,” Cox explained. “And there was no James Bond movie.”

He added, “For years, I thought I’d love to be a James Bond villain. It would be really interesting. I thought, ‘This is my moment!'” he laughed. “But it wasn’t.”

That said, Cox noted the reality show is “really interesting,” adding it was “great fun” because he “likes bossing people around” and gets to do that as the Controller.

According to the streaming service, the mysterious character is the “mastermind behind the game,” who dictates where the contestants go and what they must do to find their questions after facing Bond-inspired challenges. A million British pounds, or $1.2 million, is on the line.

007: Road to a Million begins streaming November 10.

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