James Bond fans and Hollywood insiders may be obsessed with guessing who will fill Daniel Craig’s tuxedo shoes as the next suave spy. But Craig himself — who retired from the role after portraying him from 2006 to 2021 — doesn’t share their curiosity.
During a joint interview with Queer costar Drew Starkey for Variety, Craig, 56, was asked by the outlet, “If you were to pass the James Bond torch, who would you love to see play him?”
“I don’t care,” he said with a laugh and a slight shake of his head. He and Starkey, 31, were then asked to guess how many James Bond movies Craig has made.
“I’m gonna get it wrong,” Craig said before Starkey answered with “too many.”
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“Exactly,” Craig responded as both men laughed. “I don’t know either. I’d have to count. One, two, three… five? Five.”
Indeed, the Knives Out actor starred in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021).
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That’s four more Bond movies than Craig ever intended on making. “I was driving away from the Berlin premiere of Casino Royale with [producer] Barbara Broccoli,” Craig told the U.K.’s The Times in 2022. “I had genuinely thought I would do one Bond movie, then it would be over. But by then we knew we had a hit on our hands.”
“I realized the enormity of it, so I said to Barbara, ‘How many more? Three? Four?’ She said, ‘Four!’ I said, ‘OK. Then can I kill him off?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ ” Craig continued.
Since Craig left the franchise, several men have been rumored to be in the running for the role, including Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi, 27, The Fall Guy’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 34, and The Boys in the Boat’s Callum Turner, 34.
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Last year, Turner joked to PEOPLE that one of his family members was responsible for floating his name. “I think that’s my mum. She just puts that out there. So when my odds get higher, it’s all her putting the money on,” he said.
He added that producer Broccoli “makes incredible films. I’d love to work with her in any capacity.”
Craig revealed in 2019 that No Time to Die would be his last Bond film. Since then, producers have not announced a successor. Other actors who played the spy include Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.
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