“I was honestly wanting to dislike it”: Daniel Craig Nearly Declined James Bond Role Before Steven Spielberg Convinced Him After Working in $131M Oscar-Nominated Movie

Daniel Craig has turned out to be one of the amazing portrayals of the 007 agent in the James Bond franchise. He has given impressed fans by adding his own charm to the super popular character who is known for his sophisticated yet daring personality. While perfectly executing the very symbol of the irresistible allure would have been quite difficult, he definitely pulled it off.

Also Read: “No mate I’m not f*cking playing James Bond”: Bad News For Henry Cavill as He Might Face Another Setback After Aaron Taylor-Johnson Refuses to Deny James Bond Casting Rumors

However, he was not always in favor of becoming Bond as he explained in The Guardian interview how working with Steven Spielberg affected his initial decision.

Daniel Craig Initially Turned Down James Bond Role

Also Read: “That was a money gig”: James Bond Actor Sean Connery Turned Down Lord of the Rings and Matrix To Star in Flopped Final Film of His Career

After the financial success of Die Another Day featuring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, the production studio decided to reboot the franchise. The franchise producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson set their minds on Daniel Craig who debuted as James Bond in the 2006 film, Casino Royale. However, getting him onboard was not this easy.

Craig revealed,

“When I got the call, it really was left-field.” He continued, “Honored though I was, I wasn’t deeply enthusiastic.”

The project was unable to entice his attention at first and the reason lay in its script.

“For me, at that stage, it was promises, promises. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a script and I can’t say yes without a script.” 

It was quite a big decision for any actor to dedicate their years to a project and to think there was no script at the time when the franchise approached him with the lead role’s offer, he was definitely unconvinced. But it all changed thanks to the advice of Steven Spielberg, with whom he worked in 2005 film, Munich. 

Steven Spielberg Led Daniel Craig to Change His Mind!

Also Read: “I’m fed up with the idiots”: James Bond Star Sean Connery Wanted Nothing To Do With Hollywood After His Critically Disastrous Final Film

The Knives Out actor eventually “walked away” from the offer and went on to work in Spielberg’s epic film, Munich which grossed $131 million worldwide.

Despite working in quite a dark role, he was unable to keep Bond out of his mind and decided to approach the director for some advice.

“I said to Steven, ‘Bond isn’t this kind of film.’ He said, ‘If the script’s right and if the deal’s right, do the job.'”

Eventually, the script was released in 2005 which won his heart.

“I was honestly wanting to dislike it. It would have been an easy decision. I could have said, ‘That’s very nice. Good luck with it.’ But it was too much. I sweated when I read the script. I thought, this is a great story, probably because it adhered to the book quite closely, and I just thought, ‘You’ve got to be really silly not to have a think about this.'”

He eventually thought about the pros and cons that he could have faced in his career ahead especially when he was about to give years to a project. It all worked out in the end with the 55-year-old actor featuring in five Bond films. He was last featured as 007 agent in 2021’s No Time to Die. 

Source: Guardian