James Bond might be considered one of the most masculine characters out there in Hollywood, but Daniel Craig seems to be over it. After having played the 007 agent for about fifteen years, he is all ready to move on to other things. For starters, Daniel Craig is all set to reprise his role as Detective Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Sequel.
This particular run as the detective is quite different from his portrayal of James Bond. This is because the Knives Out franchise will be focusing on exploring the sexuality of Benoit Blanc in the upcoming installments of the movie. Daniel Craig is ready to dive deeper into sexual fluidity and change the image James Bond has given him. The new Belvedere Vodka commercial can vouch for that.
Daniel Craig Teams Up with Taika Waititi for Belvedere Vodka
The commercial for Belvedere Vodka opens up with a black-and-white scene and focuses on Daniel Craig, standing there quite in a James Bond fashion. The screen changes from black and white to color and Craig is seen in a much different mood than before. He blesses the building with his groovy dance moves before settling down to “finally” have a sip of vodka. The shot is interrupted by Taika Waititi, who is playing the role of a director, yelling “Cut!” Next, he tells Craig to just be himself for the next go.
Now, is this the actor’s way of telling his audience what they should expect from him? Well, since everyone is familiar with Waititi and his unusual ways, it is quite possible. Waititi himself stated that he didn’t want to go for the obvious angle for the commercial, saying that it would be “lazy.”
“It’s just nice to do something where it’s like, ‘Oh, is this the real Daniel? Maybe this is a different version of Daniel than we’ve seen?’ He just was great and wasn’t cynical about it, and he wasn’t reticent. He just leaned straight in.”
This speaks volumes about how Craig is willing to explore more areas when it comes to acting. He has embraced the masculine, tough personality of James Bond for over a decade now. Seeing him dance along to Rita Ora’s song is definitely something new for his fans. He might be moving on from portraying mainstream masculinity to a more sexually fluid, and dare we say, fun personality.
Daniel Craig is Done with James Bond
Also Read: Daniel Craig is Shaken, Not Stirred in New Taika Waititi Directed Vodka Ad
Craig had his final run as James Bond with the movie, No Time to Die which was released in 2021. With him passing on the license to kill to the next 007, it is intriguing as to why he let go of the iconic character. Well, the Logan Lucky actor has been quite outspoken about it. He had apparently thought about saying goodbye to Bond after Spectre but was later convinced to do a fifth movie.
He once blamed the all-or-nothing demands of the job as his reason for letting go, stating that thinking about life after bond made him realize how demanding the role of Bond actually is.
“When you’re in it, you’re in it, and that’s the thing. I don’t know what it is, maybe having another kid, maybe just being older. But all of these things, I was just like, you know, f*** it. There are other things that are more important.”
Now with his character in Knives Out confirmed to be gay, along with promises of exploring the detective’s sexuality further in the third movie, Craig has already moved on to completely different things. The Belvedere Vodka commercial seems to be just a sneak peek into what’s to come for the actor.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will have a limited theatrical release on November 23, 2022, and will be available to stream on Netflix from December 23, 2022.
Source: Variety
