THOUGH he was understandably miffed at being cast aside as James Bond considering he made four movies as the iconic British superspy that grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, Pierce Brosnan encouraged his replacement, Daniel Craig, to go for the part.

Craig, on the promotion trail for the next Bond film, Quantum of Solace, which opens in a couple of weeks, recently told the celeb TV show Extra that before he landed the role, he had a chat with Brosnan about it at a movie event in London.

"I sat next to him (Brosnan) at the BAFTAs ... after dinner, after having enough to drink, I just went over (to him) and said, 'Look, it's not on the cards. It might be on the cards. If it were to be on the cards, what should I do?' And he said, 'Go for it. Just go for it. You've got to have a go at this,'" Craig recalled.

Of course that's how the saga panned out, and Craig made the Bond producers plenty of cash with his debut, Casino Royale, in 2006.

But the British actor doesn't feel that he's matched the illustrious Bond standard, yet. His favorite 007? "Sean Connery without a doubt. Nothing against Pierce and everyone else," he says.

Brosnan, meanwhile, fresh from an exciting summer in which he co-starred with Meryl Streep in the smash hit musical Mamma Mia!. will walk a green carpet in Chicago later this month as one of the first inductees of the new Environmental Hall of Fame.

Brosnan and his wife Keely have been named as worthy by the hall because of their environmental activism throughout the years. Pierce has also put his money where his mouth is on the matter, donating more than $1 million to various green causes.