Daniel Craig will go down in history as one of the greatest ever James Bonds. The actor, who hails from Chester, was given the role of 007 in 2005 and starred in five Bond movies between then and 2021, where he bowed out for good. But did you know that after his debut as the spy, he decided he wanted to be the man to finish off Bond?
Casino Royale, which was released in 2006, is arguably the Bond movie that Craig is known for. It was a film that really gave insight into Bond, not just as a renowned secret agent, but as a man. For example, as well as there being indications of 007’s style and his fashion sense, there were also poker scenes, and they helped boost visits to not only actual casinos but online roulette games, blackjack, other table games, as well as the most obvious one, poker, became more popular too, as everyone then knew Bond has a real passion for them.
And, as mentioned above, it was Casino Royale when, quite remarkably, Craig not only felt like he wanted to be the one to finish off James Bond, he knew he’d be the one to do so. Following the Berlin premiere of his debut as 007, Craig was travelling away from the screening with producer Barbara Broccoli and felt like he would do the one Bond movie, and then it’d be over. But, because he knew that Casino Royale would smash the box office, he turned to Broccoli, asking how many more, to which she replied with, “four,” before confirming he could be the one to kill 007 off.
We mentioned how influential poker is, not just in Casino Royale but in other Bond movies. And you could say that Craig has put his skills to work because he’s kept an immovable poker face since 2006, knowing full well that by 2021, and four movies later, it would all be over, as Bond, or should that be Double-O, met his maker as a hail of missiles rained in on him in No Time To Die. But why did Craig want to be the one to finish him off? And why was it the perfect time for it to happen?
Craig, 54, was fully aware of how iconic the role of Bond is, and after being convinced to stay on for four more releases following the smash hit that is Casino Royale, the actor also knew that it would take the series to twenty-five movies in total and that it’d not only be time for him to depart but for Bond to exit stage left too, in a sort of new beginning deal for both parties. And, is there anything more iconic than being the man to play Bond in the run of movies and the actual movie that detailed his “death” and the reboot and refreshing of the entire franchise? We think not. And we doubt Craig did too.
