Daniel Craig just finished a grueling, injury-plagued eight-month-long shoot on Spectre, the actor’s fourth outing as secret agent James Bond – so perhaps he could be forgiven for suggesting that he would rather kill himself than star in another 007 movie.
“I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists,” Craig told Time Out London when asked if could imagine doing another Bond film. “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.”
Craig’s sharp response likely came as a shock to fans; just two weeks ago, the actor, who still has one more film remaining on his Bond contract, told the Daily Mail that intended to “keep going as long as [he’s] physically able.”
When asked earlier in the Time Out interview what he most wants to do, Craig said he just wants to “have a holiday.”
“I just want to switch my brain off,” he added. “What usually happens is it’s 6 am on a Sunday and I’m bolt upright in bed thinking that I’ve got to go to work. It’s about switching that feeling off, turning the alarm off and going to sleep. I drink a lot more too. I’ve started this week. Just relaxing.”
Fans of Craig as 007 should not worry too much about the actor’s latest comments, at least not yet; he’s even conceded that he hasn’t “given any thought” as to whether he wants to move on from the role for good, although he may have also inadvertently suggested that he’s lost his passion for the part.
“For at least a year or two, I just don’t want to think about it,” Craig told Time Out. “I don’t know what the next step is. I’ve no idea. Not because I’m trying to be cagey. Who the f*** knows? 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.”
Speculation abounds as to who will take over the role of Bond when Craig, now 47, finally does hang up the tux. Bookmakers have their odds on Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, the upcoming Legend), but names like Damien Lewis, Tom Hiddleston, and Idris Elba have all been floated.
For his part, Craig says he “doesn’t give a f***” who takes over the iconic role after him. The actor said he’d offer just two pieces of advice to a potential replacement.
“Firstly, it’s your decision. Don’t listen to anybody else,” he said. “Well, do listen to everybody, but you have to make the choice at the end of the day. It’s your bed to lie on. And don’t be sh*t! Don’t be sh*t. You’ve got to step up. People do not make movies like this any more. This is really rare now. So don’t be sh*t.”
Spectre hits theaters November 6.