Daniel Craig Nearly Handed Back His License to Kill

Need a good celebrity quote? Why not ring up British star Daniel Craig.

The star of “Cowboys & Aliens” and two James Bond films is chatting up a storm these days. First, he slammed the Kardashians in vulgar terms. Then, he blasted politicians in similarly indelicate language.

Now, Craig is confessing he nearly gave up the gig which made him a superstar – playing 007.

There was that long hiatus where Bond maybe wasn’t happening. I’d got it into my head that if it went another two years on top of the two-year gap we’d already had, then they should probably find someone else. And I should think about getting on with things.

We should probably take him at his word.

Craig is the kind of celebrity who truly disdains the trappings of fame. Consider how he avoided the press while getting hitched to his “Dream House” co-star Rachel Weisz. And any star willing to speak his mind so freely probably cares less about the career security blanket offered by the Bond franchise than most of his peers.

“Skyfall,” the much-delayed third Bond film starring Craig, is expected to hit theaters by the end of 2012.