Barbara Broccoli, Michael Wilson insistent. He was the one. He was James Bond.
Craig was a rising performer at the time, but far from being the preferred choice. He never had any plans to play James Bond. Craig had believed he was being snubbed as part of a huge casting machine that screen-tested dozens of actors.
Craig said that he was shocked and confused to learn the truth. "I felt like I wasn’t the right person," Craig said.
Craig's time as 007 ends after fifteen years and five films. "No Time to Die," opens in the U.S. Friday, 16 months after was delayed due to the pandemic. This is Craig's final hurrah during his celebrated Bond era. It saw Craig emotionally deepen and remake the once retrograde superspy, earning him more than $3B in box office. Craig was once a snob, but he became a huge success.
Broccoli said, "It paid off tremendously." He's truly extraordinary. It's been reinvented for the 21st Century. He looked into Bond's inner-life."
Craig would have done it if he knew what he was getting into.
"If I knew more, I don’t think I could have done it. Craig spoke by Zoom from New York. "The rest, the weight, and how massive it all is, I didn't really know. "I didn't really get it."
He stops. Craig said, "I don’t think I understand it now." "I pretend to understand. This is what growing older is all about. I'm able to pretend that I am better now than I was back then.
Craig's last turn in the tux is certain to be "No Time to Die" directed and produced by Cary Joji Fukunaga. It's also the culmination of Craig's Bond driving experience. His 007 character is not an icon. It's capable of regret and grief, but it is far from bulletproof. This evolution is the focus of "No Time to Die."
"I just felt that he was affected by these things. In a Bond world. It's not in a Hamlet-like way. Craig says, "But in a Bond universe." Craig won't be playing Hamlet but Macbeth -- a play that explores the perils and ambitions of ambition -- Broadway next year.
"No Time to Die" began in a rocky fashion with Danny Boyle, the writer and director, leaving due to creative differences. Fukunaga took over and completely rewrote the script. Some were surprised that the film had ever been made. Craig suggested that he would rather slit his wrists to make another after 2015's "Spectre". He was tired of the physical toll and time commitment of each film.
Craig, 53, said that he has been often criticized for moaning about it. "After 'Spectre,' I was like: I don’t think I can handle this anymore. It was at this point that the risk felt too great. It's the phone call I make to my family, where I call them and tell them I'm hurt and that I'm at the hospital. This is a common phone call, and one that has been repeated many times over the years.
