Were there any injuries at all?
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No, no.
Absolutely not, no.
The idea was to try and make it look like its easy.
So thats the only criteria.
You traipse across a lot of Highland landscapes.
Is that a place you know well?
I dont know it well, but Ive visited many times.
Its wet, but its very beautiful.
[Laughs] Where did you get that from?
I wasnt that sober, but I was picking his brains about the next movie.
If so, how did that conversation go?
He apologised, weve moved on.
Yeah, I was actor and casting director.
[Laughs] I dont know.
It just sort of made sense.
But he said yes as well, so…
Youre actually quoted as saying I stalked Javier.
I talk shit in interviews.
[Laughs] He was literally there, standing [indicates a short distance away].
Id never met him, but Im a huge fan of his.
Apparently you said to him that nothing can quite prepare you for being in a Bond film.
Youre halfway through, and youre not really half-way through.
You need an energy level.
Thankfully, Sam has an abundance of energy and an abundance of passion for this kind of thing.
Theres no bigger Bond fan.
And thats what I really wanted from a director, and certainly from him.
I think that pays dividends.
It was in the sense, but we dont need it.
We dont need four years.
Two years is plenty.
We need a script.
You need a good script.
Thats what Sams been so great about in this.
Hes kept everybody together on the same page.
Sometimes, things can get out of hand after eight months.
When you decided to commit to more, what was it that convinced you to stick around?
[Titters]
Really?
No, never money.
I love playing it.
I love playing it.
Its an honour to play it, and I get a big kick out of doing it.
You cant not makeCasino Royaleand say, This is the beginning.
It had to happen in the right way, and I just feel that weve done that now.
By introducing new characters and old characters into this one, weve got somewhere to go.
So to what extent do you have to say about the way Bond behaves and develops?
Do you get involved at the scripting stage?
Ive been involved for four years on this, and Ive been talking about it for four years.
So in a way, every step.
Its a very collaborative process, but I attempt to be involved at every step of the way.
But, you know, it was written on the page.
The character was on the page.
The story was on the page.
Is it difficult being involved with these big characters, like Bond and Mikael Blomkvist?
Im not doing Mikael Blomkvist.
So thats not going to happen?
I honestly dont know whats happening with that.
Is it just on hold or…?
[Holds hands up] I dont know.
No, just Fleming.
Its in the books.
And you just read those.
Hes conflicted, but its about when hes knocked down, and how he gets up.
How old do you think is too old?
Forty-four and three quarters.
[Laughs] Im contracted to do another two, and I think thats a fair number.
But Im not going to outstay my welcome, someone else will have to have a crack at this.
Sam Mendes has said he would return and do another one if audiences would like him to.
Would you like him to?
But of course Id love to work with him again.
And then I interviewed him and said Daniel Craigs given his blessing for you to be the next Bond.
Now youve broken his heart.
I remember exactly what I said.
Hes welcome is not giving my blessing.
So youre the one who got into shit, not me.
[Laughs]
Talking of action performances, youve got the royal premiere tomorrow.
What did you think of the Queens acting performance?
I think she did good.
I think she did fantastically.
It was quite surreal, being in the palace acting with the Queen.
Not really, no.
It was very relaxed.
Danny was lovely and so was [the Queen].
We did it in about an hour and we were out of there.
Was it hard to keep that secret?
Well, your lot [Points to a journalist from a tabloid newspaper] let it go.
Then you denied it!
Of course I denied it!
I had to keep my mouth shut.
I dont know how it happened.
It got leaked out, but fortunately people had forgotten.
Then when it happened, they were just as surprised.
Did you keep it a secret from your friends and family?
Youre really good at keeping secrets.
[Someone chips in] Well, hes a secret agent.
These films have been changing in their political content.
The representations have been shifting.
Women arent objectified as much as we might have thought they used to have been…
Thought they might have been?
I wondered what your thoughts were on reading these films politically, with a lower case p.
I dont.
I dont think they are.
Thats a conceit, really.
I mean, theres one comment in this movie, which is just about the old and the new.
So thats kind of a political comment.
Is part of the modernisation of these films less of the flesh, less of the sexiness?
I dont know I seem to be bare-chested most of the way through it!
I take my clothes off more in this movie than I did inCasino Royale.
[Laughs[ I failed miserably, havent I?
[Laughs]
Theres more comedy in this film.
Again, the first two movies had one story to tell.
I always wanted to bring comedy back in.
I love Mike Myers, but he really screwed the franchise on a lot of the gags.
He took the best Bond gags, and just… Ivana Humpalott, you know.
In a way, it had gone for a while.
And they have in this.
Im very proud of the fact that theyve come.
Those are the funniest laughs, I think.
VERY MILD SPOILER COMING NEXT
Is that where the lizards came in?
Its just a Bond moment.
I can loosen my tie.
Theyre not filming this, are they?
But its just to remember were in a Bond movie and scare the kids.
What do you think Purvis and Wade bring to these films?
They always give us an absolutely solid place to start.
They give us a strong plot to work around, and thats what theyre really good at.
So its a natural process.
We spent four years on this, so its been two years of script work, really.
Did any of Peter Morgans old contributions stay around?
A lot of these films seem to be centred around a theme of trust.
In the first film theres Vesper Lynd.
I dont think so, unless somebody else did and hasnt told me.
I just think in the espionage game, trust is quite important.
So I think that comes up.
Theyre very open and straightforward about what they do for a living and where their loyalties lie.
I think thats solidified in this movie.
Daniel, Ive come down from the Midlands today, and-
Oh, Im sorry.
Is the downside to Bond that you cant go and do that?
No, I still do that.
Shropshires quite good, then, to get away from it all.
It is, yeah.
On that note, in 50 years, Bond has never been to Ireland.
Moan fucking moan, moan, moan.
[Laughs] Im sick of it.
Do you remember any disagreements you had with Sam [Mendes] or anybody about who Bond is?
No, I dont think so.
I dont think there was ever a clear conversation, although we were in conversation all the time.
There are emotional parts in this movie that I found pretty tough.
But hes Bond, and doesnt really break he gets thrown about.
Those kinds of rules are fun to play around with, as long as you stick to them.
Then he remains Bond.
Anything else is possible.
Theres a look of disappointment on your face, like, What the fuck is he talking about?
[Laughs]
I was wondering if you could tell me what those rules specifically are?
You and Javier have a great chemistry together.
Did you spend a lot of time on set bonding, or did you remain apart?
There was no time.
Id love to have a social life when I make these movies, but there just isnt any time.
Hes one of the best actors there is.
I just let him get on with it.
Daniel Craig, thank you very much.
Skyfallis out on the 26th October.
You canread our review here.
