The James Bond franchise has been around for a long time and many actors have brought our favorite British secret service agent to life on multiple occasions. Most recently, Daniel Craig played the role of Agent 007 after he first took up the role in Casino Royale back in 2006. However, after playing the role of Bond in 5 movies, Craig decided to retire from the role in No Time to Die.
Although a new James Bond actor has not been decided yet, it is not a serious issue since a lot of actors turned down the role before Daniel Craig as well. According to sources, even Craig initially turned down the role.
Daniel Craig initially turned down the role of James Bond in Casino Royale
Daniel Craig is most well known for his portrayal of James Bond all around the world. However, the actor almost ended up not taking the role of the beloved British secret service agent. According to IMDb,
“Daniel Craig initially rejected the part of James Bond, as he felt that the series had settled into a standard formula. He changed his mind when he read the finished script.”
The actor allegedly even got $3.2 million to play the role of Agent 007 in Casino Royale. Craig bid goodbye to the role in 2021 in No Time to Die. In an interview with Variety, Craig talked about giving up the role and said,
“I had an incredibly fortunate 17 years of my life making this. I literally want to spend the next 20 years of my life trying to unhook it all and try and put it into a place because it was incredible. I left it where I wanted it to be. And I was given the chance to do that with the last movie,” Variety quoted the actor as saying.
Idris Elba recently turned down the role of James Bond as well.
Idris Elba also turned down the role of James Bond recently
Ever since the release of No Time to Die, the fans have been curious to know who would take up the role of Agent 007 this time. Even before Daniel Craig, many great actors like Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan have portrayed the role of Bond in the past. Ever since Craig gave up the part, fans have been asking Idris Elba to take up the role of Bond but the actor officially refused earlier this year in February. Elba said,
“You know, a lot of people talk about another character that begins with ‘J’ and ends with ‘B,’ but I’m not going to be that guy. I’m going to be John Luther. That’s who I am.”
The thing about the James Bond movies is that the franchise needs an actor who can do multiple movies and play the role of Bond for almost 10-15 years and no one is looking for that kind of commitment.
All of Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies are available for rent on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: IMDB and The Associated Press
