To hear Daniel Craig mull his latest turn as James Bond in Skyfall, it wasn’t just about facing off against all those enemies of the super-spy. Craig had lots to say as well during this conversation, about doing battle with all sorts of his own inner demons, and hopefully managing to come out on top anyway.
1. Daniel, there are hints that Bond may have had a sexual relationship with another man. Is Bond bluffing?
What are you gonna do! I don’t see the world in sexual divisions. It’s not the way I look at the world. But is he gay? I think he would fuck anything! But it was a great flirt with Javier. It’s a game of cards. And a way to have your pleasure. And what’s great about Javier, is that he plays it for real. You know, he plays it to the limit. But I love that scene. It makes me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh!
2. I heard you initially turned down this role. So, what made you change your mind?
Money! I think I was just a little bewildered that they would even come to me. It wasn’t even on my radar. And I suppose I was concerned about being typecast. But you know, when you weigh it up, it’s not a bad thing to be typecast as James Bond! So yeah, I changed my mind!
3. Talk about getting buff for Skyfall.
Um, I’m not a fighter! I mean, I pretend to be one. It’s called bullshit boxing! But we try to make it look good. And you just try to stay on your feet most of the time. And then we’ll say, this fist looks good going into that fist! So it’s just constantly a lot of work, and a lot of skilled people. But I had to do a lot of running in this movie. Which I hate! So I did a lot of sprinting and running. Because…Bond doesn’t usually walk through a room!
4. Were you disappointed that you didn’t get to play with more gadgets this time around?
No! But it’s an interesting point, because people talk about gadgets all the time. But if you look at the original gadgets, what was sexy about them, was that Bond took out a box, stuck it on a door, and pressed a button.
And then a red light came on. And that’s kind of sexy. It did something. But to have Bond on a computer, looking at a screen, I think is fucking boring! And I think technology on the whole is boring.
5. How about the sequences with the water, did you ever panic?
When I was underwater? No. Actually, the great thing about doing those underwater scenes, is that you can’t see it, but we’ve got safety divers off camera.
And they have oxygen tanks. But actually, it’s my favorite bit. Because nobody can find you. I spend most of my time under the water, and there’s a huge tank at the bottom at Pinewood.
And I just sink to the bottom, put the respirator in, and hide! And it’s so great, that sometimes I actually fall asleep. You can get some great sleep down there!
So it’s wonderful being under the water, because I love scuba diving. But then you hear a voice saying, ‘Where’s Daniel!’
6. This is the first time we see Bond cry on screen. What was it like getting to that emotional place?
Crying? I don’t cry! That’s sweat! It’s on the page! And what do I think about while I’m doing that? I think about what I’m having for lunch! That’s what I think about.
7. Talk about the secrecy surrounding the movie.
Just a point about that. Somebody gave a really good speech just before the screening in London, which was that you get a chance to see the movie before anybody else does, and without knowing what will happen. You get that privilege.
And what was said was that… give your readers a chance as well. And that was what we felt so passionate about.
