Attending the UK premiere of his new film 'Trance' alongside stars James McAvoy,Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson, director Danny Boyle says he turned down a knighthood because it 'wouldn't be appropriate'.

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MARCH 19, 2013) (REUTERS) -  Film-maker and organiser of London's Olympic opening ceremony Danny Boyle told Reuters Television on Tuesday (March 19) that he turned down a knighthood on the basis that it 'wouldn't be appropriate'.

"I mean, you have to be the leader at times, but I thought anything that picked me out like that wouldn't be appropriate to the spirit in which we'd gone into it.... It felt like it wouldn't be appropriate compared to that kind of communal effort really," he said.

Boyle's vision - which included a much-talked about skit involving Queen Elizabethand Daniel Craig as James Bond - became the most-viewed Olympic opening ceremony in both the United States and Britain.

He was speaking at the UK premiere of his first movie since 2012's '127 Hours'.

"Trance" stars James McAvoy as Simon, a man who teams with a criminal (Vincent Cassel) to steal a painting, but who suffers a blow to the head which causes him to have no memory of where he hid it.

A hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson) is brought in to help, but as Simon's subconscious mind is probed more deeply, the more the lines between truth, lies and suggestion are blurred.

Part caper, part psychological thriller, "Trance" is another radical departure from Boyle's previous work, which has ranged from the story of a Mumbai teen's rise from the slums in Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire," to a man trapped under a boulder in "127 Hours," to the horror thriller "28 Days Later."

Boyle, 56, initially planned on shooting the film in New York before he was asked to be the artistic director for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

Instead, he shot "Trance" in the British capital at night while working on the Olympics ceremony during the day.

"Doing the Olympics will drive you mad after a while so we shot this, and it is the dark side so it's wonderful to do another story. Because that (the Olympics) is the light, you have got to look after the shade as well so it was lovely to get back to it yes," he said.

Boyle had initially considered McAvoy too young looking to play the role of Simon, but told his leading man he had matured during the shoot.

"He (Boyle) said to me this is the oldest I have looked, but then when he said that that was the oldest I have ever been so that makes sense," said McAvoy.

Boyle also confirmed he was planning a sequel to his cult movie "Trainspotting" which he hoped could see the original cast reunite for a release in 2016, the 20th anniversary of the tale of Edinburgh drug addicts.

"I mean we're not teasing with that - we'd love to be able to produce something that used the idea of it, not just as a sequel but something that spoke to people about time passing, and if we could get those same actors in the same parts and you know 20 years has passed. If we're all still at it by then, that would be an incredible opportunity yes," he said.

"Trance" will be released in the UK on March 27, and on April 5 in the United States.