No Time to Die: Daniel Craig denies Phoebe Waller-Bridge was hired because of her gender

Actor also said he personally recruited Waller-Bridge to work on film

Daniel Craig has denied that Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s gender had anything to do with her hiring as a screenwriter on the new James Bond film.

The Fleabag and Killing Eve creator serves as a co-writer on next year’s No Time to Die, making her only the second woman to have ever written for the franchise. Craig refuted a “cynical” reading that her recruitment was an attempt to make Bond more representative behind the scenes.

“Look, we’re having a conversation about Phoebe’s gender here, which is f***ing ridiculous,” Craig told The Sunday Times. “She’s a great writer. Why shouldn’t we get Phoebe onto Bond?

“I know where you’re going, but I don’t actually want to have that conversation. I know what you’re trying to do, but it’s wrong. It’s absolutely wrong. She’s a f***ing great writer. One of the best English writers around. I said, ‘Can we get her on the film?’ That’s where I came from.”

Craig also said Waller-Bridge came on board at his suggestion.

“She’s just brilliant,” he enthused. “I had my eye on her ever since the first Fleabag, and then I saw Killing Eve and what she did with that and just wanted her voice. It is so unique – we are very privileged to have her on board.”

In August, Waller-Bridge said that she didn’t consider No Time to Die to be her movie, as it was directed and co-written by Cary Fukunaga.

“A lot has been made of me coming on board because I’m a woman, and that’s wonderful,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “But also I can’t take credit for the movie that was written. It’s Cary’s movie.”

No Time to Die, which Craig said was made with the hopes of it being “the best f***ing Bond movie we can [make]”, is released in the UK on 3 April 2020.