Daniel Craig On Playing James Bond (Video Interview)
It was previously reported on the CBn Forums that Daniel Craig had mentioned a minor plot spoiler regarding Bond 22 while doing an interview on playing James Bond in Casino Royale with DN WebbTV.
CBn takes a look at some of the questions asked during the 10-minute interview. Click here to listen to the full interview with Daniel Craig online.
Daniel Craig as James Bond 007
Question: So why is there still a need for James Bond?
Daniel Craig: The simple answer is entertainment, I think. I mean, I don’t really know what the answer is… the fact that it’s lasted this long is incredible, it’s the longest running movie franchise of all time I think. I mean, it’s a very simple story, it’s a very simple premise. We have one lone hero going after the bad guys, and I think that applies to many movies.
I would go with that if it continues to entertain, if it continues to move people in a way, then it’s worth doing again. That’s how I approached this film. If we could make a movie that you and I would go and see then we’ve succeeded. We’ve got this great backdrop of a character invented by Ian Fleming all those years ago.
How do you describe your own Bond character if you compared him to previous actors?
Craig: Well, the conceit being that we are starting at the beginning. So in fact I’ve gotten kind of carte blanch on how he behaves.
We meet someone at the beginning of the movie that doesn’t really care if he lives or dies because his job is just to get the job done and if gets killed, he gets killed, and that’s the end of life. He’s not emotionally attached to anybody. I think the person he’s closest to at the beginning of the movie is ‘M,’ Judi Dench’s character.
What appealed to me about this was that he falls in love, and he falls in love completely. There’s no question. This is marriage. This is the rest of his life and he’s prepared to give up everything he’s achieved as a secret agent, as a man, to go and be with this woman. That I find fascinating. That is where we see him later become the human being that we know, the James Bond that we know, the one that has the wall up.
Maybe he’s not got quite such a death wish at the end of it and maybe he understands life a little bit more. But that change interested me and maybe that’s where it’s a little bit different.
How do you relate the Bond experience with the previous characters you’ve played?
Craig: That’s a tricky one [laughs]. I don’t think I’ve ever played a secret agent. The only thing I can do is apply what I apply to all my work. There has to be a truth within what you do because audiences know when you’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes.
You got a lot of criticism beforehand, before anyone had seen anything. How did you cope with that?
Craig: You kind of do and you don’t. I mean, I’m not teflon coated, it did effect me. But it gave me a resolve, and the resolve was: beforehand I wanted to make a great movie and when that happened it was like, we’ve got no choice now, we have to make the best movie we can. In fact it sort of spurred me on a little because I can’t start answering criticism like that. Some of it was maybe valid, but most of it was name calling, it was like playground stuff. What am I going to do, get involved with that?
For details on what Craig mentions in regards to Bond 22 click here – minor plot spoilers.
How would you say that this Bond movie differs from the other Bond movies?
Craig: I’m in it, which is one [laughs]. That’s a glib thing to say I know, but that’s the truth. Film making has moved on and film making has gone through a huge change in the past 10 years. CGI coming in has made what was impossible before completely possible now. But we’ve made a movie without that and therefore I think we’ve made an even more modern movie. We’ve made it rougher and edgier; not deliberately as a reaction, but because I think audiences know the difference now. They know when they’re watching CGI and they know when they’re watching real life. And we’ve tried to make this as much real life as possible. That’s the movie I like making and I think Barbara and Michael were keen to get that.
What does the Bond figure say about the modern man; is there any relation there?
Craig: Well, you know, it’s not about being a modern man. It’s about having some honour in life and that really matters. It’s a horrible expression, but just step up to the plate. When it matters, you’ve got to be able to make a decision. And it’s really hard. I mean, we all know it’s really hard. But being able to make the right decision when it matters is tricky and that’s what defines us as men, as human beings. I think that’s what Bond does. He usually makes the right decision at the right time. Sometimes it’s a little questionable… But if that is what makes a hero, then that’s what it is.
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