Daniel Craig wanted to fall at the feet of Desmond Tutu on a flight to New York - but was too intimated.

The 47-year-old actor - who 's best known for playing the iconic secret agent James Bond - has revealed he recently found himself on the same plane as the South African social rights activist and award-winning singer Alicia Keys, yet was too overcome with nerves to approach either one of them.

He recalled: ''On a flight to New York recently, Alicia Keys and Desmond Tutu were on the plane. I didn't go up to them.

''I smiled at Alicia Keys, but I couldn't look Desmond Tutu in the eye. I wanted to go up to him and fall at his feet. It was one of those situations where I blew it completely.''

Daniel admitted he was tempted to follow in the footsteps of his own fans by taking a picture with the famous pair while they were asleep, but reasoned it'd be ''creepy''.

He told DuJour magazine: ''That happens to me so often, you wake up to a phone in your face and you go, 'What the f**k!'

''So creepy! Which I call out: 'That's f***ing creepy!'''