I Love This Job
8th October 2016
Daniel Craig has spoken publicly for the first time in months about his future as James Bond
By MI6 Staff
DanielmCraig appeared for a 90-minute talk at the New Yorker Festival last night at the School of Visual Arts in New York City's Chelsea district. Hosted by one of the magazine's writers Nicholas Schmidle, Craig talked about life as an actor, his career, current affairs, and then took questions from the audience. He made an impactful entrance with his bleach blonde hair for his role as Joe Bang in the upcoming film 'Logan Lucky.'
Craig acknowledged that he knew the question would come up about his future as James Bond and the next film, 'Bond 25', and joked that his publicist was getting inundated with inquiries on whether he was about to make an announcement at the event that night.
"There's no conversation going on, and genuinely because everybody’s just a bit tired. Barbara's making another movie. I'm doing 'Othello.' Barbara Broccoli is producing that." Craig starts rehearsals on Monday and has spent the past week learning the play. He also said there is absolutely no truth to the $150m two-film contract offer from Sony.
Addressing the famous 'slash my wrists' interview from last year, Craig said he wanted to defend that. "When asked 20 feet from the end of a marathon: will you do another marathon? The answer is simple: no, I won't. But the things I get to do on a Bond movie and the type of work it is, there's no other job like it. If I were to stop doing it – just say – I'd miss it terribly. It's one of the most thrilling things as an actor you can do."
"Maybe I disparagingly said that the movie industry is getting a little too based on focus groups. But a Bond movie doesn't work like that. It's literally by the skin of your teeth you get it out. You finish shooting it, and less than six months later it's out. There's no time for focus groups."
"I love this job. I get a massive kick out of it. And, if I can keep getting a kick out of it, I will. I've got the best job in the world doing Bond."
Quick Fire
On whether Bond was done with his job at the end of SPECTRE: "Yes, at that moment in SPECTRE, I think that’s what he thinks. But it always says 'to be continued."
On clothes: "A suit should look like you've lived in it, had sex in it."
On theatre: "There's nothing like a live audience to get you outside of yourself."
On career advice: "You’ve got to know what you want. And don’t be afraid."
On Paul Greengrass saying he wouldn't be interested in directing a Bond film: "Well we wouldn't ask him! He should be so fucking lucky!"
On acting advice: "If a director gives you a note, take it. And bring your sense of humor with you. And don't be shit."
On being a Stormtrooper at this point in his career: "What a stupid fucking question!...STAR WARS, for fuck's sake!"
On the state of the film industry: "Movies are very generic at the moment. You have to go looking for them."
On the character of James Bond: "I like that broken part of him. That doing a job like that has a serious effect on your psyche. That's fun."
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