CRAIG, DANIEL – QUANTUM OF SOLACE
ACTING: CONDUIT FOR EMOTIONS
He likes acting because it lets people figure out emotions outside of
themselves, Daniel Craig tells Andrew L. Urban on his flying promotional visit
to Sydney on the eve of the release of the 22nd James Bond movie - Quantum of
Solace.
Daniel Craig almost sprints into the room, smart dark suit, black open necked
shirt and a nice firm handshake. A tray with coffee arrives, the milk jug
jumping off and spilling into his lap. Considering he’s still jet lagged from
the US - Sydney flight, Craig might have been excused for swearing and being
nasty. He isn’t, laughs it off, mops up and gets down to business, talking Bond.
“I think what makes a Bond film is the character,” he says in his clipped, clean
accent. “It has sustained for this long because of that; it was launched with an
actor cast against type with Sean Connery, this gruff guy in sophisticated
clothes and doing things on fabulous locations … the locations are always
important.”
In this, his second outing as 007, Daniel Craig is still getting to know Bond.
“He’s totally morally ambiguous – but I don’t judge him. I’d like to get to know
him more and hope if there is another one we’ll get to see him relax … and more
gags,” he adds with a laugh and a sip of his coffee. He’d also like to see Q
return (“but it needs perfect casting”) and maybe Moneypenny.
Being Bond has had the expected impact on his privacy, but he’s managed to keep
his family’s privacy “sacrosanct”. As for the riches of his profession – bigger,
better roles – he’s not swamped with great offers. “There just aren’t that many
great scripts and great roles out there.” In every way he can, Craig is
maintaining the status quo; he hasn’t even changed agents.
"it’s the dressing up and showing off"
So why acting, anyway, what’s the appeal. His instant, rapid fire reply is
“it’s the dressing up and showing off….” And we laugh. “But if you want a
serious answer [I nod] it’s offering people an outlet. We all need to figure out
emotions outside ourselves . . . safely on the screen.” He goes in and out of
character “instantly” and even though he works 7 day weeks he doesn’t take the
character home, even though he feels he has to be quite obsessive about the work
(“rehearsing, working out scenes, practicing stunts”).
Asked about doing the stunts, Craig admits to doing most of them himself and
getting hurt. But he likes to downplay the injuries. “The stunt guys endure so
much greater levels of pain that I just don’t feel like complaining about the
cut on my finger, you know.” (He lost most of his fingerprint on that finger,
though.)
In Quantum of Solace, Bond cuts a different figure. Betrayed by Vesper, the
woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal.
Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (Judi Dench)
interrogate the man Bond captured at the end of Casino Royale - Mr White (Jesper
Christensen) - who reveals the organization which blackmailed Vesper is far more
complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined. In Haiti, a case of mistaken
identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a
woman with her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene
(Mathieu Almaric), a major force within the mysterious organisation. Bond
discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s
most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled Bolivian
General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio). As Bond gets closer to finding the man
responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, he is made an outlaw by his own MI6.
"the most interesting relationship in this film"
“I think the most interesting relationship in this film is the one between
Bond and M,” says Craig. “She trusts him despite appearances, but she’s ordered
not to . . .”
A minder arrives to take him away to another media session – and the plane is
already waiting to take him on to the next leg of his global junket: Japan.
Daniel Craig is as much of a jetsetter as James Bond.
Published November 20, 2008
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