Daniel Craigseems to loathe some aspects of his time playingJames Bond. The English actor is famously tired of questions about the next actor to play the character, or if there willever be a “gay James Bond.” Craig also recently reflected on his tenure as Britain’s most famous fictional spy, and how he dealt with the immediate fame that came his way following his debut inCasino Royalein 2006.
Speaking toThe New Yorker,Craig described his handling of his James Bond fame as a “f*cking disaster.“When asked how he handled the sudden rise in stardom, the actor joked, “I dived into a really big, deep, dark hole. Went to Mexico City, did a lot of drugs. If only.” Craig’s true coping method was far less exciting (or illegal), as"I locked myself away and didn’t come out of my house and I felt paranoid. I mean, with good reason.”
As fans normally like to do with any major role, Craig’s casting as James Bond was heavily criticized beforeCasino Royale. However, the actor is now many people’s favorite version of 007. “Before the first movie, it was, like, He’s really terrible. After the first movie, it was, like, He’s really good. And then the interest in you is so overwhelming.You feel like you’ll never go out again,“he explained.
Daniel Craig Felt “Free” After Leaving James Bond
Daniel Craig played James Bond for the final time in the ironically namedNo Time to Diein 2021. The film brought his tenure to a natural conclusion, allowing another actor to take over his license to kill. Since then, Craig has made a new name for himself as the iconic detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’sKnives Outmovies. He also currently stars in Luca Guadagnino’s dramaQueer, for which he has garnered Oscar buzz. Most surprisingly, Craig and Guadagnino are re-teaming in the near future forSgt. Rock, which is set in the rebooted DC Universe.
Did Daniel Craig Just Give One of the Best Performances of His Career?
Daniel Craig is set to give one of his best performances in Luca Guadagnino’s love story, ‘Queer.’
Craig’s career feels far more dynamic and eclectic since his departure from James Bond. The actor said “I was suddenly kind of free,” after stepping down from the long-running role. In between Bond movies, Craig still tried to fit in other projects, like David Fincher’sThe Girl With the Dragon Tattooandthe divisiveCowboys & Aliens.But the heightened workload left him “too exhausted.” He explained:
“It’s two years out of your life, and you go, ‘Oh, go and do another project to freshen myself up.’ And all I found was I couldn’t put any energy into it. So with varying degrees of success, I kind of did these movies that were, like, O.K.”
He stepped away from acting in 2017, wanting to focus on his personal life and family. But, when Rian Johnson came knocking with an original murder mystery, he couldn’t turn it down. Craig described his first reaction to readingKnives Out, saying:
“I laughed out loud when I read it, and I was, like, does he really want me to do it? And he went, ‘Yeah, I want you to do it.’ I said, ‘You want me to do a Southern accent?’ And he went, ‘Yep.'”
Casino Royale
