Despite numerous rumors circulating every year about “who will be the next James Bond,” Daniel Craig said he has not decided whether he will really stop playing the most famous spy in movies. The statement was made last Friday, October 7th, at The New Yorker Festival.
This was the first interview given by the actor after the release of Spectre in November, 2015. For 90 minutes, Daniel Craig spoke to journalist Nicholas Schmidle on various topics, ranging from the beginning of his career to his political position in the current US presidential election (he supported Bernie Sanders and now supports Hillary Clinton). He also spoke about new projects in film (he’s just finished shooting Logan Lucky, the reason why his hair is different), theater (will play Iago in Othello in New York from November to January – tickets sold out in less than one hour) and television (he’ll star in Purity, an adaptation of the book with the same name).
However, he couldn’t avoid questions about James Bond. He was asked by someone from the audience about the alleged proposal of $150 million that he would have received to reprise the role in the 25th film of the franchise. The actor vehemently denied that he had received this proposal and reiterated that everyone involved in the James Bond films are taking some time off and focusing on other projects at the moment (Barbara Broccoli, Bond producer, is producing Othello, for example).
It was a very interesting interview and different from the others, precisely because it was possible to hear him for over an hour, and not just 10 minutes as it usually happens in television programs. It was also nice to see him talk about the infamous interview he gave last year in which he stated that he would rather “slash my wrists” than do another James Bond movie: this question was asked just two days after one year filming. The actor made a comparison to a marathon runner after crossing the finish line: If someone asks the runner if he wants to run another marathon at that very moment, the answer probably would not be polite.
Anyway, we’ll have to wait to see what will happen. As a fan of the franchise and of Daniel Craig’s, I hope he returns to play 007, since he revitalized the movies and brought them to today’s world.
See some photos of the interview!