Why Daniel Craig tried to sabotage his first meeting with James Bond

Every actor who has played James Bond has had a love/hate relationship with the role. For Sean Connery's descent into the Bond films was a double-edged swordas the Scottish star eventually felt trapped by playing England's top spy, which led him to make a string of disturbingly dark films in the 1970s, including Christopher Nolan's favorite Connery film1973's “The Offense”. All the while, Connery could be heard talking about how he “hated” James Bond and even how he would “like to kill him.”

This set a precedent, and every actor who played 007 in the following years developed a similar relationship with the role. Roger Moore was never comfortable with the use of guns, and after leaving the saga, Pierce Brosnan claimed (via CBS) regretted the “stupid one-liners” and was glad that he “doesn't have to deal with some jerky image” anymore. Timothy Dalton may have been most at ease with the role, but even then he struggled after 1989's License to Kill, initially deciding not to return as Bond before seemingly changing his mind and only finding EON Productions drafted in Brosnan to would replace him. Even George Lazenby experienced backstage problems after playing Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, trying to reconcile his sympathies for the counterculture era with the image of a man who would die for queen and country. .

But by far the most intriguingly strange relationship between an actor and a role belongs to Daniel Craig. The 2006 “Casino Royale” star was apparently not only uncomfortable playing a super-spy during his tenure, but had already made up his mind before he was even cast — strategizing how to jeopardize his first meeting. a role that ultimately backfired.

Daniel Craig has probably been the most outspoken of all the James Bond actors about his anti-007 sentiment — at least since Connery said he wouldn't mind reviving the character. The British star infamously told Timeout London in 2013 (via The Guardian) that he would “rather cut (her) wrists” than play Bond after his fourth character outing. But while you might initially think that the actor grew jaded with each subsequent installment of the modern franchise, he was actually anti-Bond from the start.

As indicated in a GQ in the piece, before Craig was cast as 007 in “Casino Royale,” he was adamant that he didn't want to be Bond, but agreed to meet with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. The actor said: “It was literally like, 'F**k off.' I don't want it. how dare you How dare you offer that to me?” So when he went to the audition, he apparently took a cheeky approach to his outfit, wearing a shirt with no cufflinks, paired with a jacket that exposed his shirt sleeves. “I was like, 'B**k it , I'm just going to let them hang like that,” he added.

What the hell was Craig so upset about? It's still unclear, but based on his comments, it seems the actor may have considered the role somehow beneath him. Or maybe he was reticent to enter the same pigeon hole Connery was in 40 years ago. Whatever the reason, the actor who recently gave sensational performance in Luca Guadagnino's opera “Queer” was apparently anti-Bond (but still went to the audition). Fortunately for fans of what remains the best Bond movie ever made, Casino Royale Craig's attempt to sabotage his audition backfired.

After Daniel Craig turned up for his James Bond audition in what he thought was an inappropriate outfit, he was no doubt surprised to learn that his aloofness actually impressed Bond's guardians. Creating cliplong-time Bond producer Barbara Broccoli recalled Craig's relaxed dress as what convinced her he was ready to be the new 007. She said:

“Michael (Wilson) and I really wanted him. We just wanted him. The only problem was he didn't want to do it. (He) walked into the office and I remember him walking in and I said to Michael afterwards, ” He wants to do it.” It was the funniest thing, it was something about how he (..) wore French cuffs and they weren't off, and (…) it somehow, I don't know why, I I said. He wants to do it.''

It seems that Craig's sloppy wristbands eventually landed him the role of James Bond. But that was really only the beginning of the actor's difficult relationship with 007. Even after the film was made, but before filming began, the actor seemed determined to spoil his shot in leading cinema's most enduring franchise.

As the GQ piece notes, when “Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell called Craig in for a screen test, the actor refused to play ball. Campbell asked the actor to take a grape out of the fruit bowl and pop it into his mouth, but the star refused, “sparking an argument on what was basically his first day on the job.” Craig said: “I just went, 'No.' I said, “No, I can't.” I won't do it. It was about “How am I going to be James Bond?” Amazingly, Craig managed to keep his place as the new Bond, perhaps thanks to Broccoli's surprising affinity for his co-star. open hostility to the role.

Despite the objections to portraying James Bond, Daniel Craig certainly got it right in the end – at least in the first film. Even in the following action “Quantum of Consolation” – which remains the biggest disaster in Bond history, but not for the reason you think – Craig was good. Behind the scenes, however, it seems he never really settled down.

Years after making Casino Royale, Craig spoke with his co-star Mads Mikkelsen Diversityrecalling how he didn't feel able to join the rest of the poker players between scenes, saying, “What you asked me to do was go away and relax, and I couldn't do that.” You'd think, then, that the pressure of debuting his version of Bond and helming the legendary franchise had taken its toll on the actor — and that was undoubtedly part of it.

But we know that Craig was against the whole idea of ​​Bond before he even auditioned. By his own admission, he literally tried to sabotage his selection at every turn. Without being rude, the question being asked with all this anti-bond sentiment in general seems to be as simple as this: What the hell is Craig's problem?

To be honest, I think Craig's simmering resentment towards Bond actually helped him find a new dimension to the character. His intense portrayal in “Royale” is still my favorite to this day, and it continued in “Quantum,” which was considered an add-on to “Royale,” despite what you may have heard. The trouble came when Craig seemed to abandon his Bond-hating and adopted his “I don't give af**k” stance (another quote from his infamous Timeout London interview). I'd take barely-concealed anger at being in a Bond film for the dumbest approach he and EON have taken since 2012's Skyfall. Anyway, the Craig era is now over and the world is waiting for the announcement of the next actor who will be very excited to play 007.