Daniel Craig has certainly had some memorable years as 007. The British actor took over the iconic spy role from Pierce Brosnan, making his debut in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale. Since then, Craig went on to do four more movies for the franchise, definitively concluding his run in the 2021 Bond film, No Time to Die.
Over the years, Craig has been vocal about moving on from being 007. And while he was ready to walk away after the 2015 film Spectre, Craig was eventually persuaded to return to the franchise for a final time. And now, looking back, Craig’s Spectre co-star Dave Bautista has also shared some insight on the star’s time as 007, particularly what may have made him unhappy.
Daniel Craig Says Playing Bond ‘Changed My Working Life’
For Craig, landing the role of 007 has been a real career-maker. Sure, he’s been working in film and television since the 90s, but it’s the Bond films that essentially propelled him to stardom. And as an A-lister, projects came to him more easily.
“Bond allows me to do anything I want to in some respects. But it’s changed my working life in an incredible way,” Craig said. “There are more opportunities. I could do many, many things.” However, he also said that those opportunities took up “an awful amount of time. If anything, the restriction is that it is incredibly time-consuming. That’s the restriction.”
And while playing 007 helped Craig’s career a great deal, the actor was vocal that he couldn’t keep playing Britain’s most famous spy for much longer.
Daniel Wanted To Quit After Spectre
Craig had always known he had to do Spectre. It was part of his Bond contract, after all. Once he wrapped up the film though, the actor felt like he was done.
“I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists,” the actor famously said when asked if he’s willing to return as 007 once more. “No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”
At the same time, Craig also revealed that playing 007 has been physically grueling. “When I started doing Bond, I threw myself into it and was as physical as I possibly could be,” he said.
“I felt like that was really important – that's who I wanted my Bond to be. I wanted people to believe it was me doing those stunts. However, after Spectre I genuinely felt like I couldn't do that anymore.”
At the same time, Craig admitted that it’s also been hard on his family (he shares a child with his wife, actress Rachel Weisz). “I felt like, 'What was the point?' Also, it's at least a year out of my life away from home. And that is really tough on everybody,” the actor continued.
He also didn’t like the idea of giving his wife more reasons to worry. While working on Spectre, Craig ended up breaking his leg. He’s also suffered several other injuries while playing Bond over the years.
“That call when I go 'Hi, I got injured, I'm going to the hospital' is not a great phone call to make,” the actor said. “I didn't feel like I could do it anymore.”
Eventually, however, Craig was convinced to return as Bond one last time. In No Time to Die, his 007 is killed off in the end, seemingly ensuring that it’s over for the actor.
Dave Bautista: Daniel Craig ‘Didn’t Seem Like The Happiest Person’ While Playing 007
In Spectre, Bautista played Mr. Hinx, the assassin working for SPECTRE who ultimately gets into an epic showdown with Craig’s Bond. And while the two stars didn’t work together again for years, they recently reunited for Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
And now that they’re working on a different franchise, Bautista can also tell that Craig is doing a lot better these days.
“He was really put through it on Bond,” the actor said of Craig. “You could feel that he was under a lot of pressure. He didn't seem like the happiest person on Bond, but on Glass Onion, it was the complete opposite.”
Unlike in the past too, Craig is able to hang out with fellow cast mates. “He was just so much fun, and he was always smiling and happy and interacted a lot more,” Bautista pointed out.
“On Spectre, there wasn't a whole lot of interaction with the whole cast. But Glass Onion was the complete opposite. We were always together. So I got to know him better as a person and actually see him do his thing.”
Meanwhile, following Craig’s exit, the search for the next Bond is on. And while he’s not involved in casting (or the franchise itself) anymore, the actor once shared some words of wisdom for the next Bond.
“You’ve got to step up. People do not make movies like this any more. This is really rare now.”
