Daniel Craig Walks Back His James Bond-Related Fatigue

Ah, my old friend, the James Bond rumor. No franchise has produced as many questions about the state of its current cast as the unnamed Bond sequel. Will Daniel Craig be returning to the role? Definitely not. Or, wait, probably. No, they’re actually casting a new James Bond as we speak. Scratch that, they’ve actually backed a dump truck full of money onto Craig’s front lawn to get him back. Or they’ll probably go in a different direction.

On Friday, Daniel Craig joined the New Yorker Film Festival (via Vulture) for a conversation about his acting career. When the subject of James Bond came up  —  and it was bound to come up  —  the actor offered a little clarification on where he is at with the franchise. Craig made headlines last year for saying that he would rather ‘slash his wrists’ than play the character of Bond again, but when asked about those comments, Craig took a more measured approach. According to Craig, those comments were made “the day after filming,” when the actor had been away from home for a year and was ready to see his family again. Anyone in that position would be ready to do something else.

And with rumors emerging that Craig is still the producers’ first choice to play Bond in the next film, would Craig consider returning to the role? Here’s what the actor had to say:

As far as I’m concerned, I’ve got the best job in the world. I’ll keep doing it as long as I still get a kick out of it… If I were to stop doing it, I would miss it terribly.

Every time Craig opens his mouth about James Bond, it’s news, but this is little more than maintaining the status quo. Every actor would play any role as long as they had a good time doing it; furthermore, Craig has been very careful to speak positively about the Bond franchise since last year’s faux pas about the movie. If anything, these quotes are just proof of how loyal Craig has been to the franchise. Can you imagine what it would be like if every work meeting began with people asking your current relationship status? And made you reflect on everything you ever said about your significant other? Craig has been a very good James Bond, but he’s been an even better job as ‘Daniel Craig, Actor Who Plays James Bond.’ It’s the part he was born to play.