Just when you thought Sam Mendes couldn’t bring in any more quality actors to what increasingly sounds the most award-winning thesp-heavy cast ever for a Bond movie, Baz Bamigboye reports that Albert Finney is signing on to play a Foreign Office chief.

Though the 23rd Bond film already boasts the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem and Naomie Harris aboard with regulars Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, Finney was brought in as a surprise for the cast at a recent table reading, and has snagged a decent-sized part playing a government mandarin who will no doubt butt heads with Dench’s M.

Whatever the new movie ends up being called (Skyfall has been rumoured but not confirmed) it now features some serious acting talent. And while talk of director Sam Mendes ditching action set pieces in favour of dialogue heavy material in the hopes of scoring some awards glory for his outing seems unlikely (we’re pretty certain Eon Productions would make sure he keeps up the set piece levels), it’s sounding more and more enticing.

Finney, who has been on a break from acting to combat cancer, is clearly in an espionage mood as he'll show up again in the Bourne franchise again after nabbing a role in The Bourne Legacy.

We’ll get to see the bond film on October 26, 2012. American readers will need to wait until November 9.