Daniel Craig Talks James Bond's Sexism and Whether Or Not He'll Return For Another Film
Our culture has come a long way since the days of Sean Connery's version of James Bond slapping a woman on the ass and telling her to leave because he needs to have some "mantalk" with CIA agent Felix Leiter. (Yes, this really happened.)
The character of Bond arguably hasn't changed too much over the years, but actor Daniel Craig — who has portrayed the super spy in the previous three films and will once again reprise the role in this year's Spectre — hopes that his version has made a few improvements in a couple of different areas. He tells Esquire UK:
“Hopefully, my Bond is not as sexist and misogynistic as [earlier incarnations]. The world has changed. I am certainly not that person. But he is, and so what does that mean? It means you cast great actresses and make the parts as good as you can for the women in the movies.”
His iteration of the character definitely has a more complicated dynamic with women than any of the previous versions, especially when you see how his relationship with Vesper affects all of his interactions with women post-Casino Royale. Eva Green definitely had the best female role of the Craig-era Bond films so far, and I'm hoping Monica Bellucci or Lea Seydoux can at least come close with their characters in Spectre.
Craig knows that the romantic lifestyle of his character isn't ideal, and though men all over the world fantasize about being Bond, he doesn't make it sound so great:
“He’s very fucking lonely. There’s a great sadness. He’s fucking these beautiful women but then they leave and it’s… sad. And as a man gets older it’s not a good look. It might be a nice fantasy – that’s debatable – but the reality, after a couple of months…”
That's almost always been the reality of the character, and for me, Craig has been the only Bond able to bring that soulful element to him so the audience can really feel like he has an emotional core instead of just flippant with every woman he meets.
Meanwhile, years ago there were rumors that Craig had signed on for Spectre and one more Bond film, but in the Esquire interview, he plays dumb about the details of his deal:
“I don’t know,” he says. He really doesn’t know? “I really don’t know. Honestly. I’m not trying to be coy. At the moment I can’t even conceive it.”
Would he at least like to do another one? “At this moment, no. I have a life and I’ve got to get on with it a bit. But we’ll see.”
Well, Sam Mendes originally wasn't going to come back to direct Spectre, but he ended up doing that (though he claims it'll be his final Bond film, for real this time). I think whether Craig comes back depends largely on how Spectre ends and whether or not it directly sets up another sequel. We'll find out soon enough, since the film opens in American theaters on November 6th.