A Quick Reminder That Daniel Craig Didn’t Always Love Playing James Bond
"If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money," the actor once said.
No Time To Die, the newest instalment of the James Bond franchise, will be the last to star Daniel Craig as the titular character.
Yep, after years in front of the camera in his sharpest tuxedo, Craig has finally stepped away from playing the role that turned him into a global superstar. No Time To Die is a swansong, a farewell to the fans who have loved him, and a deep retrospective of the character that probes his darkest depths. It’s a grand bow, and one that Daniel Craig has been waiting a while for.
After all, Craig has always delivered somewhat mixed remarks on his time as 007. There is, for instance, his extremely, uh, intense quote, about wanting to ‘slash his wrists’ rather than play the character again.
“Now? I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists,” the actor said when asked whether he was keen to reprise the role. “No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.
“For at least a year or two, I just don’t want to think about it. I don’t know what the next step is. I’ve no idea. Not because I’m trying to be cagey. Who the fuck knows? At the moment, we’ve done it. I’m not in discussion with anybody about anything. If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.”
You’ve almost got to appreciate the straight-talking.
Well, relatively straight-talking. Because amidst such extreme comments, Craig was also open and honest about the fact that he would always look back on his time as the character fondly.
“Were I to stop doing it,” the actor said in the Q&A session after a screening of Spectre, “I’d miss it terribly”.
"Were I to stop doing it, I'd miss it terribly." Daniel Craig indicates he has not quit the James Bond role. #007 pic.twitter.com/YgiVLVqEzA
— Phil Nobile Jr. (@PhilNobileJr) October 8, 2016
Australians will be able to see Craig’s last outing when No Time To Die finally hits Australian cinemas, this December 4.