Many actors would trade their souls for the opportunity to play James Bond on screen. Right now, it's a small (and elite) group of male actors who have been able to serve on Her Majesty's Secret Service, and every time there's a rumored opening in the 007 role, conversation gets loud about who might fit properly into the super spy's tailored tuxedo. This is part of the reason why Daniel Craig made skyscraper-sized waves when he revealed, shortly after wrapping production on Spectre, that he'd "rather slash my wrists" than play the spy again. With plenty of time to reflect on those comments, Craig now realizes that answer was, in his own word, stupid. Craig says:
There's no point in making excuses about it. It was two days after I'd finished shooting [Spectre]. I'd went straight into an interview, and someone said would you do another one? And I went, 'No!' Instead of saying something with style and grace, I gave a really stupid answer.
Daniel Craig is making the publicity rounds on behalf of Steven Soderbergh's Logan Lucky, and he used his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to confirm that he will, indeed, play James Bond again in the as-yet-untitled Bond 25. And in doing so, Craig had some fun with Colbert about his blunt assessment of playing 007 under the white hot scrutiny of a passionate fanbase. It's amusing. We want our movie stars to be candid, and to speak off the cuff about the true "perils" of carrying massive tentpole franchises like the Bond series. But when they honestly express how grueling the machine can be, we "turn" on them. It's a no-win situation.
But Daniel Craig, finally getting some distance from the whole situation, likely realized how fortunate he is to be wanted back for the globally-resounding role of James Bond in the next 007 thriller, so he'll be the Spy Who Loved Us in a fifth Craig-led Bond movie. In my opinion, Craig has to make up for Spectre. It was a disappointment, especially after the stellar Skyfall. But Craig's run as Bond has been a see-saw of good-then-bad, so Spectre should give birth to a great 007 thriller. Will it be two films, shot back-to-back, as has been rumored? Time will tell. Here's Daniel Craig talking Bond on Colbert. It starts around the 2-minute mark:
As for Daniel Craig's "slash my wrists" comment, I still find them to be candid, honest and funny. Craig's blunt, and he has a dry sense of humor, but he has to realize that his comments -- no matter how flippant -- can and will be scrutinized. My guess is that he'll be far more careful about what he says into a microphone in the future.
