Daniel Craig had one request for Bond producers before signing on as 007 in Casino Royale

British actor decided to play spy under one condition

Daniel Craig explained what prompted him to play James Bond ahead of his final outing as the British spy.

The actor signed on to play 007 in the 2006 film Casino Royale and played him four more times up until No Time to Die, which was released a year ago this month.

Speaking on the film's official six-part podcast, the actor said he only accepted the role after ensuring he could do something different to what had come before with actors, including Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.

"The deal was, I said to [producers] Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [G Wilson] before I read the script – it's so arrogant, it's ridiculous – I just said I can't do an impression of something that's come before," Craig said.

He continued: "I can't recreate what you've done before. Brilliant though that is, I can't do it. I can't come in and try and be something that people expect."

Craig told them: "I can come in and try and reinvent it, because that to me is fascinating and interesting."

Daniel Craig had one request before signing on to play James Bond

Thankfully, the producers had the exact same idea in mind.

"Instead of them saying, 'Thanks very much, bye,' they said, 'Yeah, that's exactly what we want you to do.'"

Earlier this week, Bond producer Michael G Wilson revealed the age of the actor who would next play Bond, effectively ruling out two former favourites.

No Time to Die is available to stream on Prime Video now. Find our review here.