The 'No Time to Die' actor gets real about the reason why he gave up 007 role, feeling too old to bounce back from the scary stunts required for the action franchise.
- Aug 23, 2021
AceShowbiz - Daniel Craig bailed on playing action hero James Bond because he's too old to bounce back from the scary stunts required for the role.
The Brit makes his fifth and final appearance as 007 in "No Time to Die", the release of which was postponed several times during the COVID pandemic, and he has now overtaken the late Sir Roger Moore's record as the longest-serving Bond - with 15 years in the tuxedo.
But the star realised he was getting a bit long in the tooth for the part after struggling with injuries while playing the very athletic spy. He lost two teeth on his first outing as Bond, in 2006's "Casino Royale", sliced off a fingertip filming 2008's "Quantum of Solace", and fractured his ankle on "No Time to Die".
"I still do as many stunts as I can because I enjoy the physicality of it - I always have, even before Bond. But I have grown older and don't bounce back as well as I did. I've hurt myself on every single Bond movie since I started; it's just par for the course," he told British magazine Candis.
And Daniel confirmed, again, "No Time to Die" will be his last 007 film.
"It's absolutely the last. It's time for somebody else to have a go now," he insisted, admitting he has mixed feelings about handing in his licence to kill because there has been "no downside to playing Bond."
The actor, who is currently filming the sequel to his hit film "Knives Out", added, "(Playing James Bond) has afforded me so many amazing things as an actor that I am extremely grateful to him and always will be. If I had any ambition as an actor, it was to work with the best people, and that is what I've been doing."
"Look, I've been lucky enough to land one of the best roles in movie history, and I decided that if it turned out to be the only thing I ever did, I'd be happy. There's been no downside to playing Bond. None at all."
"No Time to Die" will open in cinemas on 30 September (21) following its premiere at London's Royal Albert Hall on 28 September.
