14 DAY TRIAL // There are few other things that Daniel Craig hates more than having to do press for his own movies, mostly because he knows each and every one of his statements is likely to be taken and spun until it gets a different meaning. Still, his interview with Esquire magazine, the September 2015 issue, is a must read.
This fall, Craig returns to the big screen as the world’s greatest spy, the posh, charming and very dangerous 007 agent, James Bond, in “SPECTRE.” He says this might actually be his last outing as Bond (“but we’ll see”), and if that ends up happening, he promises fans it will be his best work in the franchise yet.
James Bond is changing for the better
The James Bond franchise, for all its popularity and critical acclaim, has never really managed to shake off the criticism that the character is a sexist pig who has zero respect for women. This was more obvious in the early installments, but even the Craig movies would lead to the same conclusion on a closer analysis.
“SPECTRE” will hopefully change that, the actor tells Esquire.
“Hopefully my Bond is not as sexist and misogynistic as [earlier incarnations]. The world has changed. I am certainly not that person. But he is, and so what does that mean? It means you cast great actresses and make the parts as good as you can for the women in the movies,” Craig adds.
Indeed, the world has changed and the first sign of it was the casting of Monica Bellucci in the role of a Bond girl. Or Bond woman, as she asked to be called.
At 50 years old, Bellucci is Craig’s senior by only 3 years, but she’s the oldest woman ever to have been cast as a Bond love interest, she is the first age-appropriate lover he gets. Director Sam Mendes knew this would make headlines, so when he approached Bellucci with the offer, he invited her to take part in something revolutionary.
James Bond is lonely, ultimately sad
In the same interview with Esquire (which is a must-read, especially for fans), Craig says that he would probably not like spending too much time with James Bond given the way he moves from one woman to another.
That might sound like a dream life to a younger man, but “it’s not a good look” for an older man, the actor says. He finds Bond’s life lonely and ultimately very sad, because he meets all these beautiful and smart women, whom he gets to fall for him, but at the end of the day, he is still without a companion.
Here’s to hoping James Bond fans won’t be holding this against him.
“SPECTRE” opens in October in the UK and in November in the US.