The band's guitarist The Edge thinks the Hollywood hunk would be the perfect person to portray him if a film about the Irish group was ever made.

Edge, 47, said: "We'd want it to be realistic, we don't want the usual things, so Brad Pitt would play me. We want to be realistic, you know, you don't want to do the Hollywood thing."

Bono thinks only an Oscar winner could do him justice on the big screen. He joked to British radio presenter Christian O'Connell: "Yes, I would say. who's another tall, skinny Irishman? Daniel Day Lewis would play me."

The band - who released their twelfth album 'No Line on the Horizon' last week - also admitted they have come close to splitting on several occasions since they formed in the 70s.

Bono, 48, believes the band - which also includes drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton - hit a bad patch "every few years".

Edge confessed: "I do this thing probably about once every 10 years where I go OK, that's it, I've had enough."

To watch the full video interview with the band on Absolute Radio, visit www.absoluteradio.co.uk.