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Sam Mendes rules himself out of National Theatre role

Sam Mendes has revealed that he has not applied for the artistic director role at the National Theatre.

The Skyfall filmmaker returns to the theatre this autumn to direct King Lear starring Simon Russell Beale.

Sam Mendes at the Empire Film Awards

© PA Images / Jon Furniss

Sam Mendes at the Empire Film Awards

However, despite admitting he is "interested", he is not planning on securing a full-time position.

He told The Stage: "How can you not be interested? It's the most amazing job.

"But it's a simple thing for me, and if I run the National Theatre I can't direct movies. It's no more complicated than that - I love directing movies as well as plays."

He continued: "Anyone who seriously does the job has to do it for ten years, or the very minimum five, and you can't just go away and direct movies.

"I did it at the Donmar, but that's a 250-seat theatre that does just five shows a year. The National Theatre is the National Theatre."

He revealed that he had spoken to a member of the theatre's selection committee to find Nicholas Hytner's replacement.

"I had a very brief conversation with them, but put it this way - the first line of the person who discussed me doing it was, 'You don't want to do this, do you?' It was basically phrased that at the moment it would seem unlikely that I'd want to do this.

'Skyfall', Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig

"That's assuming they would even offer it to me, but it needs the kind of dedication that the two Nicks have shown, and it shows you what two remarkable people can do when they are fully dedicated to a single institution.

"The reality is that they've taken it to such a level and set it up so brilliantly for the next generation with all the development and capital work. They have to have somebody who is fully dedicated to it, because otherwise it will drop off."

Sir Nicholas Hytner took over as artistic director at the National Theatre back in 2003, and will step down in March 2015.

Mendes also spoke about the ongoing discussions to see him return as director for the next James Bond film.

"Nothing is going to be determined until Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [now previewing at the Theatre Royal] has opened," he said.

"I'm literally here from 8.30am to midnight every day, and it occupies every inch of my attention. So we'll make decisions about that once Charlie has opened."

Watch Sam Mendes discuss Charlie and the Chocolate Factory below:

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