On Daniel Craig’s Bond – or, He Knows What He Did.

 

A video surfaced recently and went viral of Daniel Craig thanking the crew of the latest Bond, appreciating them, and the movies they have made together – it was very touching, and a nice moment of genuine-ness from him.  He also mentioned a bit about how they ‘may have heard him say some things about these movies’... I wrote this post nearly two years ago when No Time To Die was first about to come out. I figured I would post it now. Just my opinion and some ranting – feel free to ignore!

 You may have heard me state that I don’t care for Daniel Craig and when asked why, I typically reply with, “He knows what he did.”  The short version of ‘what he did’ is that he has seemed ungrateful.  The long version is below.

In an interview in 2015 when asked about continuing to play the character of James Bond, Craig replied that living up to the image of Bond is “onerous”, that he had put everything he had into Spectre, and stated “I would rather slit my wrists than play that character again” (Reuters, 2015). I have three reasons why that statement is upsetting enough to me that I have carried a grudge about it since then. The reality is that it doesn’t matter – certainly my opinion of Daniel Craig does not matter to him and shouldn’t matter to you either. If you love his work and his performances as an actor, that’s wonderful! I am sure he will continue to make a variety of interesting choices in roles going forward. Knives out was incredible and very entertaining – his accent in it was not, but hey – whatever!  If you find him off-putting and could not put a finger on why, perhaps one of these reasons can clarify it for you?

Reason 1 – The fans.

                I have long believed that an actor’s only purpose is to entertain the audience. I once heard Ian McKellan say something to that effect and I have never forgotten that idea. From the first caveman who stood up and regaled his tribe with tales of their hunting party earlier in the day while the group relaxed around the fire - the purpose of the storyteller is to entertain the audience, or to put it more crassly – to put asses in the seats. In this context ‘entertain’ can take different forms and might be better served with ‘engage’ the audience, but you get the drift.  The instant an actor believes they are more than that purpose, or that they do not need the audience, that the audience does not matter, or that the ‘work’ is more important than sharing it with the audience – I believe they have lost the main goal of the occupation.  Now, this can be interpreted in various ways, and often there are actors who state they are there to elevate the material, rather than engage with the audience. That may be, but in that case, why are you performing it? Why not simply do that alone in a room?  Certainly performing on stage is the purest form of performance for an actor as they have one chance to take the material and execute it properly.  I feel like the stage is the actor’s medium. In that vein, TV is the writer’s medium, and films and movies are the director’s/editor’s medium.  This is why someone like Tom Cruise (as arguably crazy as he is) gets bonus points from me for always putting the audience first. He knows what the fans want and goes to ridiculous lengths to achieve it. That said, in general, Craig seems to have little engagement with the audience and does not care what they think of his interpretation of this character.

                In 1953, Ian Fleming wrote the first of his James Bond series of short stories and novels. Fleming was a former naval intelligence officer and used the character of Bond to tell many stories of the gentleman spy over several years through 1964. The first Bond movie was Dr. No starring Sean Connery as Bond and was released in 1962. Since then, there have been 24 films with a combined gross of over $7 billion. The movies have varied from silly to serious and drift from overtly racist and sexist to charming and fun (and more subtly sexist). As expected with a franchise that long-lived, there is a massive fan base that enjoys the films.  This is why most actors take the role very seriously and are thrilled when presented the opportunity.  Craig took the role in 2005 and stated he was aware of the challenges that came with it but wanted to bring more ‘emotional depth’ to the character. The fans were not thrilled with his casting, but other actors were.  Clive Owen was another name thrown around at the time and he praised Craig’s casting as a ‘proper actor’ – whatever that means.  Badmouthing the role and the experience disrespects the fans who enjoy the series. If he does not want to play the character, he doesn’t have to, there are plenty other actors who would love the opportunity. Which brings me to point 2.

Reason 2 – Sidelining others

                While Craig seems to spend the majority of time during Bond promotional tours bitching and moaning about being Bond, there are other actors who would love the opportunity.  Personally, I think Henry Golding would be fantastic. The last two movies I saw him in both included Bond mentions around him (Last Christmas and The Gentlemen).  David Harewood would be another excellent choice. Idris Elba has had rumors swirling around him for the last several years. After Craig first stated he never wanted to do it again, Elba said he would be happy to do it. There were comments from those around the product that Elba was “too urban” for the role.  If you’re confused by what “too urban” means, it means they are racist and didn’t want to be caught saying he’s “too black” to play James Bond.  Bond should be cocky, confident, capable, charming, fun, action-packed, and British. All things that Elba is and maintains.  In any case, many fans pushed for him to take the role and just as it looked like it might happen, Craig suddenly agreed to do another film. Which is mystifying for so many reasons.   Elba has shifted into other interests (he spends a lot of time DJing) and now may be too old for the role. There are other options. After seeing The Man From U.N.C.L.E., I think Henry Cavill would be a great Bond. Whoever gets the role next, there are hundreds of other British actors who would love to take the job and would not constantly complain about having it, so hopefully the next Bond will love being Bond.  At the very least, perhaps they won’t state they would prefer suicide to playing Bond again, which brings me to point 3.

Reason 3 – Suicide is not an appropriate analogy for your mild discomfort – ever.

                This reason is the most personal to me and not necessary a Craig issue but a more general one.  I lost my youngest brother to suicide in 2007 and it completely destroyed me. He was my best friend and losing him was devastating. That is one of the most heartbreaking side effects of suicide, it ends the pain for the person but it eviscerates those who remain leaving boatloads of unresolved guilt, anger, depression, and anxiety. It is fairly common to hear things like “I’d rather kill myself than do that” or see someone gesturing a gunshot to their own head, or mimicking hanging themselves. People who do this have never experienced a suicide of someone near them. Of course you wouldn’t actually rather kill yourself that do the action in question, and no doubt Craig would not rather slit his wrists than be handed piles of cash to put in the effort to play Bond again, especially since he decided to play him again shortly thereafter.  The use of suicide as an analogy for not wanting to do something is disgusting, horrific, upsetting, and needs to be removed from colloquialisms. Again, not specifically a Craig issue, more of a critique on those who do it in general. Hopefully eventually folks will find a different way to express their displeasure.

Overall, Daniel Craig is a gifted actor – that’s been demonstrated time and time again. He’s good, and he’ll continue to be good. For me personally, I love a big-budget, gigantic, summer tent-pole type movie. And I prefer actors in those that are well-aware of what they are making, enjoy that level of silliness and do not take themselves too seriously.  One step further, they understand how much the entertainment means to the fans and want to do right by them.  See: the Rock, Cruise again, or anyone working in the MCU.  If you only want to make gritty, deep, emotionally riveting art-house think-pieces that elevate the material and you truly do not care if anyone sees it, great – more power to you.  There is a place for that, and actually, a fairly large audience for it.  Let those who enjoy the big nonsense make the big nonsense. Keep your grumpy ass at home.

Reference:

Reuters. (2015, October 8). Daniel Craig says he would ‘rather break this glass and slit my wrists’ than play Bond again. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/daniel-craig-says-he-would-rather-slit-his-wrists-than-play-bond-again-2015-10