Daniel Craig talks being James Bond in No Time to Die, his comedic turn in Knives Out and the price of fame – interview
- The 25th Bond film No Time to Die, co-starring Ana De Armas, has been much delayed by the pandemic – will it prove the British actor’s final outing as 007?
- Craig enjoyed playing Mikael Blomkvist in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and likes his martinis shaken, extra dry and ‘cold as hell’
Once voted the sexiest man alive, James Bond star Daniel Craig turns 52 on March 2. He talked to STYLE about the latest film in the franchise, No Time to Die, and how he likes his martinis.
It took me 20 years to get used to the idea and the fact of having to give up my private life … Not being able to go to certain places and live the way I used to was a difficult adjustment for me. But I’m not going to complain because the upside has been huge
He left home at 16 to pursue his acting dream
“I left Chester (Liverpool) in 1985, when it was as depressed as it could be. I left at 16 and spent the summer in London. I lived in North London, West London, stayed on people’s floors until they chucked me out. I was studying at the National Youth Theatre in London. We didn’t have any money, but my mum would bung me a couple of hundred quid, and there were people willing to look out for me.
“I managed to scrape it together. God knows how, it’s terrifying, really. My mother gave me a gentle push. I was terrible at school. There wasn’t a lot for me to do. I wanted to act and she knew that there wasn’t much going on in Liverpool and I had to go to London.”
Playing Bond has been life-changing
“The role has changed my life and my career in a thousand ways, and it has given me the power to do what I want in the future.
“Also, I have learned a lot. I have always been very involved in the whole process. Before we began work on Casino Royale, I spoke with the producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, and I said to them: ‘You want me to go out there and become James Bond, which is a huge responsibility in terms of image and commitment. Therefore, I need to be involved in the production.’ And they agreed and made it very easy for me.”