Daniel Craig Just Not That Into James Bond Anymore? 5 Times He's Distanced Himself

The actor has played the super spy in four films, most recently the upcoming movie Spectre

By Corinne Heller Oct 30, 2015 7:21 PMTags
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Is Daniel Craig ready to break up with James Bond?

The 47-year-old British actor and current 007 actor has played the super spy in four films, some of the grittiest in the franchise, and has become even more famous as a result. He most recently reprised his role in the upcoming film Spectre.

Craig had said in 2012, when the previous film Skyfall was released, he had signed on to star in two more Bond movies, telling AskMen.com he loves playing the character. But this past month, he stirred controversy when he told Time Out London he would rather slash his wrists than appear in another 007 film.

He later clarified his remarks, telling the BBC, "I'm quite straightforward and I say things when I feel it and then I change my mind." His co-star, Naomie Harris, told the outlet the actor's words had been "blown out of proportion."

Craig has often appeared to distance himself from both the James Bond franchise and the character, even throwing him some shade. Check out four more examples:

"I have a life"

In an interview with British Esquire, published last week, Craig said he didn't know if he would star in another Bond film. When asked if he would like to, he said, "At this moment, no."

"I have a life and I've got to get on with it a bit," he said. "But we'll see."

"They won't let me go"

"I've been trying to get out of this from the very moment I got into it, but they won't let me go, and I've agreed to do a couple more, but let's see how this one does," Craig said about Skyfall in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone. "Because business is business and if the s--t goes down, I've got a contract that somebody will happily wipe their ass with."

Skyfall made more than $1.1 billion worldwide—the most out of all 24 released Bond films. 

Sony Pictures

"I am not that man"

In an interview with Parade magazine, published on Friday, Craig said, rolling his eyes, "There's a complete separation between the character and me. And if I went home and acted like James Bond...I'd get thrown out, believe me."

"I said at the very outset that I needed to be given the confidence to be James Bond, because I am not that man," he added. "I'm a long way from being like Bond. Thankfully, they listened to me."

Craig also noted that working on Spectre marked "one of the nicest experiences I have had, a culmination of 10 years of working on these films."

"I hope I can continue to work as hard as I have been doing for another couple of years," he said. "But I honestly haven't given a great deal of thought to what will happen after Bond."

James Bond is a "f--king lonely" "misogynist"

"Let's not forget that he's actually a misogynist," Craig told Red Bull's Red Bulletin website. "A lot of women are drawn to him chiefly because he embodies a certain kind of danger and never sticks around for too long."

"Hopefully...my Bond is not as sexist and misogynistic as [earlier incarnations]," he told British Esquire. "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."

Bond, Craig told the outlet, is "very f--king lonely."

"There's a great sadness," he said. "He's f--king these beautiful women but then they leave and it's...sad. And as a man gets older it's not a good look."

Spectre, which may or may not be Craig's final Bond film, is set for release on Nov. 6.