Daniel Craig has been an instantly recognizable face to moviegoers since making his first appearance as James Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale. The latest installment -- No Time To Die – will mark the end of his career as 007 and will close out a successful era for the franchise. Although Craig seems made for the role, playing James Bond was never a childhood dream for him:
People are always saying to me, ‘You must have dreamed of playing James Bond when you were a kid.’ The answer is no. I never did.
Craig told Yahoo! Movies that, like most children, he was more interested in playing more fantastical characters like the Invisible Man or even a cowboy. He also had his sights set on two very popular superheroes:
I dreamed of being all sorts of other things – Superman, Spider-Man, the Invisible Man, even a good old-fashioned cowboy. But Bond so much, which seems ironic now.
These, of course, never came to pass, and he found himself stepping into the shoes of one of a different kind of character. Still, Daniel Craig definitely isn’t disappointed about having snagged the role of James Bond:
I’ve been lucky enough to land one of the best roles in movies. There’s been no downside to playing Bond.
Superheroes have had a place in the pop culture sphere for decades, and their reach has been extensive. With this, it makes complete sense that Craig would have wanted to wear a cape or swing from webs when he was a kid.
Ironically, the number of British actors playing famous comic book roles has grown over the past several years. The Witcher’s Henry Cavill was the last actor to breathe life into the Man of Steel, and Tom Holland is currently swinging along as the fan-favorite web-slinger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition, Robert Pattinson is set to follow suit, as he’s set to don the cap and cowl in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
It’s honestly hard to see Daniel Craig in any other role after watching him play James Bond for over a decade. Nevertheless, he has proven that he has the range to play any kind of role. Not many critics or moviegoers would have pegged him to play safe-cracking convict in Logan Lucky or as a southern detective rambling about doughnut holes in Knives Out. All in all, the possibilities are still endless for the English actor.
After Bond, Daniel Craig will still be tied to the Knives Out franchise, as writer and director Rian Johnson is currently working on a sequel. However, he could still have time to jump into a superhero franchise. Whether or not Marvel or DC would give him a call about a role is the question. We’ll just have to wait and see if it happens, but you can still catch Craig as James Bond one more time when No Time To Die opens in theaters on November 25.
