Craig unveils the true character behind his role as the suave British secret spy.
The Bond actor disclosed that while his role as the British Secret Service agent made him a "wealthy man" he hopes to bring "weight and meaning" to the role in Spectre.
"Hopefully," he says, “my Bond is not as sexist and misogynistic as [earlier incarnations]. The world has changed. I am certainly not that person. But he is, and so what does that mean? It means you cast great actresses and make the parts as good as you can for the women in the movies," said Daniel in the interview.
However, this time around director Sam Mendes is signing an older actress as the Bond Girl. "For the first time in history, James Bond is going to have a story with a mature woman. The concept is revolutionary,” said Daniel, happy to see the change.
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He explains how his role as Bond does not reflect his personality at all. “There’s kind of a rigidity to it. You’re playing this very specific character and everybody starts looking at you in that way, and you’re like, ‘I’m not that'," disclosed the actor.
“I’m not James Bond,” he says, not for the first time. “I’m not particularly brave, I’m not particularly cool-headed. I have the fantasy that I would be good in a certain type of situation, like all of us, and I put those hopes into [playing] him,” he said.
Does that mean that he does't like James Bond?
"I don’t know if I’d like to spend too much time with him,” he says. “Maybe an evening but it would have to be early doors. What goes on after hours, I’m not so sure about. But I don’t judge him. It’s not the job of an actor to judge your character.”
He further delves into his character and reveals what popular opinion holds about masculine, socially maladjusted killers -- loneliness:
"He’s very lonely,” Daniel says. “There’s a great sadness. He’s with these beautiful women but then they leave and it’s… sad. And as a man gets older it’s not a good look. It might be a nice fantasy – that’s debatable – but the reality, after a couple of months…”
Speaking about his talent as an actor and being able to project James Bond, Daniel was not too worried. He didn't shy away from the role when it was offered to him, he felt he needed to prove that he wasn't just a blockbuster hunk: “I worked a lot before [Casino Royale]. I did lots of things, I worked with amazing directors. I was very relaxed about what I did. I knew I could act."
But before signing for the film, he had a few thoughts running through his mind:
“I did feel like, ‘I’ve got to look like I’m doing other stuff.’ But then it was, ‘Who for?’ So the public think, ‘Ooh, isn’t he versatile?’” revealed Daniel.
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Once he became a Bond sensation, delivering the most successful British film (Skyfall), the tables turned. Then the problem became about him forming a stereotypical profile based on his on-screen persona (Bond).
“It was like, ‘I’m James Bond, for heaven’s sake. So I’ll do James Bond’ . The fact of it is, it’s not a bad position to be in. I used to get asked all the time, ‘Don’t you worry that you’re going to get typecast?’ ‘And?’ I mean, talk about a high-class problem.”
Like all previous Bond actors, he may not play Bond again and Spectre might be his last film, but that doesn't seem to bother the actor.
When asked if he was okay with being James Bond first and Daniel Craig second and whether he’s shot his last scene as James Bond, would he feel satisfied with what he’s achieved? “Immensely,” he said. “I’ve done my best.”
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