Daniel Craig says one of his Bond films was a ‘nightmare’ that ‘didn’t quite work’

‘I probably shouldn’t say this,’ actor said while discussing divisive 007 movie

Daniel Craig has made a rare admission about one of the James Bond films he starred in.

The actor played the British spy in the 007 franchise from 2006 film Casino Royale right through to No Time to Die in 2022.

While the actor has bluntly made it clear he does not care about the future of the series, he has been looking back at his time playing the character, reflecting in particular on his second Bond outing Quantum of Solace.

The Knives Out actor, who is being tipped for an Oscar nomination for his role in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, starred in the film during the 2007-2008 writers’ strike that rocked many film and TV productions at the time.

Craig described the sequel as a “difficult second album” and said it was a “f***ing nightmare” making the film as they were mostly without a script when cameras started rolling.

“We should never have started production,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, before sharing a revelation that he admitted he “probably shouldn’t say” – according to Craig, he ended up “writing a lot of lines” for the film.

While the film has been reappraised in recent years, with many taking into account its trouble production when assessing it, Craig does not class himself as one of its fans.

He said: “There are some amazing stunt sequences in it but it just didn’t quite work. The storytelling wasn’t there. That’s a lesson – starting a movie without a script is not a good idea.”

Craig injured himself three times while making Quantum of Solace – something he detailed in several follow-up interviews.

Daniel Craig in ‘Quantum of Solace’ (Eon Productions)

However, when he reflected on the things he regrets about his time playing Bond, he said he wishes he had not complained about hurting himself on set so much.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Craig told The Los Angeles Times in 2022: “I’m pissed off at myself that I ever even spoke about them. It’s my fault because I kind of didn’t shut up about the fact that I had all these injuries.

“The physical side of the movies was just the job. I had to do it. I trained, learned the fights, that’s kind of my brain not working. I put way more work into the creative side of those movies than I did into the physical side of those movies.

Guadagnino’s Queer, which Craig stars in alongside Drew Starkey, is released on 13 December. Next year, he’ll reprise the role of sleuth Benoit Blanc in a third Knives Out film, the trailer of which shocked viewers thanks to the actor’s unrecognisable new hairdo.