'No Time to Die' actor Daniel Craig talks first and last days of playing James Bond

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James Bond actor Daniel Craig opened up in a recent interview about both his first and last days of playing the iconic British spy.

Craig will star in the upcoming 25th film in the franchise, “No Time To Die,” which recently had its premiere date pushed back several months due to fears of the coronavirus closing down theaters internationally. The film will mark the 52-year-old star’s last time playing Bond.

Speaking to GQ, he opened up about what it was like to film his last scenes as James Bond and the emotional roller coaster it took him and the people behind the production on.

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Craig explained to the outlet that he’s OK with ending his time as the character with “No Time To Die” because he believes in its quality.

Daniel Craig will play James Bond one last time in 'No Time to Die.' (Columbia Pictures)

“I’m really…I’m okay,” he told the outlet. “I don’t think I would have been if I’d done the last film and that had been it. But this, I’m like… Let’s go. Let’s get on with it. I’m fine.”

The film’s director, Cary Fukunaga, noted that he got emotional on the final day of shooting.

“Typically I’m not an emotional person on sets,” Fukunaga said. “But there was a sort of pulsing feeling to that day.”

The director explained that the crew stayed late to witness Craig take his final bow as Bond. After the director gave a short speech about Craig’s five-movie run as the iconic character, it was time for the actor himself to speak. Unfortunately, he admitted that he got too emotional to deliver the coherent closing remarks he’d planned ahead of time.

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“I had a whole thing kind of put together in my head that I wanted to say,” he recalled. “I couldn’t get it out.”

The star also talked about the early days of being Bond. He admitted that he didn’t think he was in serious consideration for the part, which he started auditioning for before his predecessor, Pierce Brosnan, announced his exit.

“I remember saying to them early on, ‘I can’t do a Sean Connery impression. I can’t be Pierce [Brosnan]' ... It was literally like, ‘F--- off. I don’t f---ing want this. How dare you? How dare you offer this to me?’ ... But it was all defense.”

Daniel Craig discussed his first and last days playing James Bond.  (AP Photo/Leo Hudson, File)

Even after he was officially announced as the next 007, he recalled there being backlash from fans. In fact, he didn’t begin to feel safe in the role until he sat with audiences at the premiere of “Casino Royale.” He explained that once he heard people cheer at the opening sequence, he let some of the emotional weight off himself.

“All the pressure suddenly was… Because the whole thing of, ‘He’s not right…’ I intellectualized all of it,” he explained.

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Craig added: “I know why they don’t like me. I know why I don’t like me. So I know why they don’t f---ing like me.”