Daniel Craig Hates James Bond?

It’s not news to anyone reading this that Daniel Craig has been saying some pretty scathing things about playing the womanizing British badass James Bond. Since Craig is not only my favorite James Bond, unpopular opinion I know; but also the only Bond movies I care to watch, blasphemy! Even more of an unpopular opinion. Because of these opinions I have for Craig as Bond it was a shock when I read Craig’s infamous quote of “I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists.” Not only was I shocked but I was somewhat disappointed. No one can say his turns as Bond escalated his career. While Craig was a great actor before redefining one of the most infamous Brits of all time this launched him into the stratosphere.

I decided more digging was needed to see if this quote and the feelings attached to it were taken out of context or warped beyond belief by the time they hit the internet. Naomie Harris (Craig’s co-star in the upcoming Spectre) claimed the remark was sarcastic and blown out of proportion. I wanted to stop reading there. Isn’t that how we do things online? We find the first piece of data to support our view regardless of source and move on? Well, not quite good enough. This level of anger for such an iconic role, and right before the release of the movie no less, spoke volumes that there was more to it.

Part of the reason why Craig is so bitter, especially at this exact point in time, is the physical demands of the role. Anyone who saw Craig’s physical transformation on the big screen for Casino Royale knows there was some serious time spent in the gym on a strict diet. That work alone is tough. Craig also does as many of the stunts he can for the role to make the films more believable, a service I appreciate as a fan. Due to these risky maneuvers, even with all the safety standards, accidents happen and so do injuries. Craig was injured seriously enough while making Spectre to necessitate surgery, but he is a pro and showed up immediately back on set and gritted through the pain to deliver the product. Another accident, a torn meniscus, halted production for a time that Craig later referred to as ‘a blessing in disguise.’

To mention another headline that’s been making the rounds when shooting resumed on the fight scene that resulted in Craig’s injury he accidentally punched co-star Bautista in the face, almost breaking his nose.

Part of the reasoning for Craig, or any actor, could be the pressure of the role. Just accepting the role of James Bond is not a decision to be taken lightly. With the success of Casino Royale the stakes were raised. After Skyfall became the highest grossing Bond film of all time (1.1 billion) Craig and Mendes were both worried that any follow up would have a hard time meeting the expectations.

Spectre has been a production riddled with trouble. During last year’s Sony hack early versions of the script were leaked to the public. In addition to the script emails were leaked with executives, key to the project, being worried about the ever increasing budget. These were minor set backs at the time, headaches for the somewhat reluctant returning Oscar winning director. To hit a little closer to home for Craig, and adding to the eventual ‘blow up’ (not to be too dramatic) Craig is a co-producer on the film. The hack resulted in some very heavy potential spoilers that I won’t repeat here in case you were lucky enough to avoid hearing about them. Plus they are potential spoilers since scripts change many times in the course of production.

There is hope on the horizon for Bond fans! Maybe Craig was just tired after a grueling 128 day shoot, maybe the interviewer rubbed him the wrong way, maybe some moron backed into his car (DB9 possibly) at Starbucks that morning, but recently Craig had been alluding to the fact that maybe he isn’t finished. He hasn’t come right out and said so, but contractually he has one more film to go and doesn’t seem quite so bitter about the prospect. Wife and fellow actor Rachel Weisz was very supportive and excited about the role at the red carpet premiere of Spectre, family obligations could play a big role so that’s a positive sign for those of us who want to see him rocking parkour in a tux one more time.

All things considered, all sources scoured, it seems like the actor was in a bad mood and said things that came across as harsher than his true feelings intended. Maybe with some distance the actor will cool off or maybe audience’s will get a new Bond. Either way Spectre looks like a phenomenal follow up to Craig’s part of the franchise. With Christoph Waltz as the villain that’s a November 6th must see.