Tell us how you really feel, Daniel Craig.
After playing James Bond in the last four films of the successful franchise, including the forthcoming “Spectre,” the British actor told Time Out London he’s ready to put the role behind him.
Craig has implied as much in previous interviews. But this time, he left no doubt when asked, “Can you imagine doing another Bond movie?”
“Now? I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. 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.”
It’s hard to blame him. It’s been nearly 10 years since he took over the role for 2006’s “Casino Royale.” In much of the interview with journalist Dave Calhoun, Craig addresses his growing fatigue at inhabiting a role he felt became increasingly stale with each installment.
Plus, all the work that goes into the looking the part can be a bit of a “drag,” he said.
“The best acting is when you’re not concerned about the surface. And Bond is the opposite of that. You have to be bothered about how you’re looking. It’s a struggle. I know that how Bond wears a suit and walks into a room is important. But as an actor I don’t want to give a f—k about what I look like!
“So I have to play with both things. In a way that works, as that’s Bond: he looks good and he doesn’t give a f—k what you think he looks like!’ “
Craig said he’s grateful for the opportunity but that the all-consuming role has kept him from pursuing other projects.
“Bond allows me to do anything I want to in some respects. But it’s changed my working life in an incredible way. There are more opportunities. I could do many, many things. But it takes an awful amount of time. If anything, the restriction is that it is incredibly time-consuming. That’s the restriction.”
In fairness, Craig had just wrapped an eight-month shoot for “Spectre” in England, Mexico City, Morocco, the Austrian Alps and Rome when he sat down for the Time Out London interview. So he may have been a little burned out.
Above all, he said he was looking forward to sleeping in on Sundays, switching his brain off and enjoying a few drinks.
And yet the 47-year-old actor did not completely close the door on the possibility when asked if he really wants “to move on from Bond for good.”
“I haven’t given it any thought. For at least a year or two, I just don’t want to think about it. I don’t know what the next step is. I’ve no idea. Not because I’m trying to be cagey,” he said. “At the moment, we’ve done it. I’m not in discussion with anybody about anything. If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.”
“Spectre” will open in U.S. theaters on November 6 after premiering October 26 in the UK.
