Daniel Craig throws off his ‘tetchy’ persona to talk openly about Bond as his time as 007 ends
It’s midday at the Corinthia Hotel in London and I’m sitting on a bench in a corridor waiting to talk to Daniel Craig.
The main entrance doors are open for ventilation. Pre-pandemic there would have been a lot of security, this is Bond after all, but in the age of coronavirus the hotel is like a socially distanced Fort Knox.
There’s a doctor on standby and before I’m allowed in the same room as 007, I’ve had to pass a temperature check – and that isn’t all.
To get into the hotel itself I’ve had to show the results of a negative PCR test taken within the last 48 hours, prove I’d done a lateral flow test this morning AND sign paperwork promising I’m not secretly trying to give everyone at the press junket COVID.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Daniel Craig’s ‘joyous’ return to the cinema
The mask I had with me had to be taken off, only to be replaced by an industrial-looking number that everyone around me was wearing. “It does look a bit like we’ve all got beaks!” one woman commented in the hallway to nods and muffled agreement.
This whole process is very weird and certainly not conducive in terms of making you feel nice and relaxed ahead of interviewing an actor who has a reputation for being notoriously tetchy.
If there are journalists before or after me, I haven’t come into contact with any, so pre-Daniel I settle for a hushed gossip with a woman who may have been a member of security (but really who knows when our faces are covered-up with a giant white beak?).
Sep 2019: Daniel Craig on the set of No Time To Die. Pic: AP
“Have you met Daniel before?” she said. “No” I say.
“Every time he’s come out here he’s made a point of asking us if we’re all ok, he’s REALLY nice!”
“That’s good to know,” I tell her, adding: “because he’s got a bit of a reputation for being, you know, grumpy.”
But not today.
Just one final hurrah of press interviews and that’s it, Daniel Craig is done.
There’s no way he’s repeating those “he’s so moody” headlines he got after the very first news conference he did.
Casino Royale was Craig’s first Bond outing. Pic: Nicola Dove/MGM
So it is a seemingly demob happy Craig I’m introduced to, sat alongside super-producer Barbara Broccoli.
No handshakes, of course, and they’re sat well over two metres away from me in the hotel’s well-ventilated ballroom.
But those blue eyes are twinkling, he’s laughing, relaxed even, and happy to chat now the rollercoaster is about to stop.
“I mean, I was definitely in two minds about taking it at the beginning but… I’ve never regretted it,” he says.
“It’s been tough, but it’s always, always, always, always been interesting. It’s always been creatively satisfying. I’ve had the chance to work with just some of the most incredible people and it’s made a mark on my life and, I mean, that’s a massive understatement.”
Broccoli refuses point blank to think who her next Bond will be.
Subscribe to the Backstage podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
“I’m in denial. I don’t want to think about it and I’m not going to think about it. As far as I’m concerned Daniel Craig is James Bond. End of story.”
It hasn’t been easy 15 years for Craig, being the leading man in one of Britain’s biggest cultural exports.
Aside from broken legs and twisted ankles, the run-ins with the press were there from day one, with critics saying it was wrong to have a blond Bond.
He’s had paparazzi in trees outside his house, photographers willing to bury themselves under sand to get pictures of him on the beach in his trunks.
He admits, before he met his wife Rachel Weisz, the attention ruined relationships and made him never want to leave the house.
“I think I’ve changed,” he reflects, looking back on it now.
“I’ll be perfectly honest, I couldn’t deal with it but it is part of the nature of the beast, you have to sort of accept it. I think you have to find a level.
Lashana Lynch has taken on the mantel as 007. Pic: Nicola Dove/MGM
“I’ve tried my best not be hypocritical about it. I keep myself away from everything when I’m not promoting a movie. I’m not on social media. I try and keep a very private life. So that’s my sort of that’s my sort of line in the sand, I suppose.”
Has it got any better as he prepares to leave the role?
“The press don’t seem as interested in me anymore,” he laughs. “I’m probably just a bit boring for them.”
So it’s official Daniel Craig isn’t grumpy… he wants to be boring… but then he is a very good actor. And surely that’s all that matters?
Entertainment
Quincy Jones: Oprah Winfrey, Elton John and Barack Obama among famous figures paying tribute to music legend
Oprah Winfrey, Sir Elton John and Barack Obama among the famous figures who have paid tribute to Quincy Jones following his death at the age of 91.
Following the announcement of his death on Monday, a string of friends, collaborators and admirers have been speaking out to praise the music producer and composer.
TV host Oprah Winfrey said her life “changed forever for the better” after meeting Jones as he helped secure her role in the 1985 film adaptation of The Colour Purple, which earned her an Oscar nomination.
Jones, the jazz musician known for collaborating with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, wrote the film score and also co-produced the film.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Quincy Jones dies aged 91
Winfrey wrote on Instagram: “My beloved Q. The world’s beloved Q. The one and only Quincy Jones ‘discovered’ me for The Color Purple movie in 1985. My life changed forever for the better after meeting him.
“I had never experienced, nor have since, anyone who’s heart was so filled with love.
“He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the Light. No shadows.
“He was love lived out loud in human form and he was the first person I ever loved unconditionally.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
10 things about Quincy Jones
Whoopi Goldberg, who was also in The Colour Purple, also wrote on Instagram: “I was lucky enough to have him in my life for all these years.
“My heart is breaking for his friends and his extended family who loved and adored him… my condolences.”
Read more:
A legend with 19 mobiles and controversial opinions
Quincy Jones’s best-known collaborations
Former US president Barack Obama, who honoured Jones with the US National Medal of Arts in 2010, said: “For decades, Quincy Jones was music.
“From producing Thriller, to composing the score for The Color Purple, to working with Frank Sinatra to Ray Charles, it seemed like every big record – and every big film – had Quincy’s name on it.
“His music appealed to listeners of every race and every age. And by building a career that took him from the streets of Chicago to the heights of Hollywood, Quincy paved the way for generations of Black executives to leave their mark on the entertainment business.”
Barack Obama honoured Quincy Jones with the US National Medal of Arts in 2010. Pic: Reuters
He added: “Michelle and I send our thoughts to Quincy’s friends, family, and everyone who has lived their lives to his songs.”
Sir Elton John remembered Jones as someone who had a more “incredible” career in music than anyone else.
He shared a photo with him at the Elton John Aids Foundation Oscar viewing party, and called him a “loyal supporter of this important fundraiser”.
The singer added: “Nobody had a career as incredible as Quincy Jones. He played with the best and he produced the best. What a guy. Loved him.”
Rapper Ice T hailed Jones as a “genius”, while US Grammy-winner Lenny Kravitz said he was “speechless”, but added: “What a life. What an expression of authenticity. What a teacher. I am humbled that I was given the gift of your openness and friendship”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Singers react to death of ‘hero’ Quincy Jones
Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland thanked Jones for being “such a wonderful teacher” and creating the soundtrack to “some of the most extraordinary moments” in her life.
Jones also helped to launch and was an executive producer on the popular US sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, starring Will Smith.
Jones with his daughter, actress Rashida Jones, and Will Smith in 2007. Pic: Reuters
Smith said: “Quincy Jones is the true definition of a mentor, a father and a friend. He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself. He defended me. He nurtured me.
“He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”
Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers, who was friends with Jones, shared a video that said “Rest In Power Quincy Jones. The Greatest of All Time”.
Peter Hook, the bassist and co-founder of Joy Division and New Order, wrote on social media: “It’s so sad to hear about Quincy Jones. When he signed us to his label, he made us feel so welcome – inviting us to dinner at his home every time we were in town.
“He made us big in America. He was so humble & sweet that you immediately fell in love with him.”
Hook added: “And to this day I still got a lovely message from him every year on Christmas and birthday cards! A musical genius and a great, lovely man.”
Amy Dowden will not take part in the rest of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The professional dancer made a return to the celebrity contest this series after undergoing treatment for breast cancer and had been partnered with JLS star JB Gill.
However, the 34-year-old has now had to pull out of the competition due to a foot injury.
In a statement on Instagram, she said: “I’m so sad, so upset and asking why me, why now that our journey has been cut short.
“My heart right now is breaking having to pull out of the competition due to a foot injury.”
Dowden added: “I know only too well ‘this too shall pass’ and I’ll be soon better and back dancing. Something I’ve had to get used to in my life. I’m sure at some point we will dance again JB.
“To all the fans, to my loved ones, my strictly family thank you.”
JB Gill and Amy Dowden. Pic: BBC/Ray Burmiston
A spokeswoman for Strictly added: “Sadly, Amy Dowden MBE will not be partaking in the rest of the competition this year.
“Whilst Amy focuses on her recovery following a foot injury, fellow professional dancer Lauren Oakley will step in as JB’s dance partner.
“The health and wellbeing of everyone involved in Strictly are always the utmost priority. The whole Strictly family sends Amy love and well wishes.”
The news was first announced on Monday evening during the show’s spin-off programme Strictly: It Takes Two.
Lauren Oakley partnered with Krishnan Guru-Murthy last year.
Pic: PA
Dowden was taken ill during the live show the previous weekend and missed the Sunday results programme.
She was taken to hospital from the BBC show’s production centre, Elstree Studios, as a “precaution” after “feeling unwell”, a spokesman for Dowden said at the time.
Last year, Dowden found a lump in her breast while on her honeymoon in the Maldives with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones, and was unable to compete on Strictly.
After treatment for stage three breast cancer, she announced in February that tests showed she had “no evidence of disease“.
Read more from Sky News:
Tributes paid to Quincy Jones
Dawson’s Creek star shares cancer diagnosis
Trump and Harris hold final rallies
Dowden was made an MBE in this year’s New Year’s honours list for services to fundraising and raising awareness of Crohn’s. She was diagnosed with the disease as a teenager and is a UK ambassador for the charity Crohn’s and Colitis.
She was also admitted to hospital in Manchester following a Crohn’s flare-up during the 2022 Strictly live tour.
Dowden also said in her statement that in the past few months she had “finally felt like me again”.
She added: “Cancer was no longer the first thing I thought of when I woke up. It was choreography, music choices, which dances in which order, what we needed to work on. I felt free again.
“My goal since hearing those words you have cancer was to get back on the strictly dance floor. It’s been such a challenge to get back.”
Dowden also praised JB Gill for being the “perfect partner” on the dancefloor.
“I know you and Lauren will continue to ace that dance floor. I’ll forever be your biggest cheerleader,” she added.
Quincy Jones, the music producer and composer, has died at the age of 91.
Jones worked with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and many other artists.
Among his best-known credits was as the producer of Jackson’s historic Thriller album.
Jones oversaw the all-star recording of the 1985 charity record We Are The World.
He also composed the soundtrack to the hit 1969 British film The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine.
Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. Pic: Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch /IPX/AP
Naomi Campbell, left, and Claudia Schiffer flank Quincy Jones. Pic: AP
His publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed Jones died at his Los Angeles home on Sunday surrounded by his family.
In a statement, his family said: “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’s passing.
“And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Pic: AP
Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton. Pic: Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch /IPX/AP
His family added Jones was “truly one of a kind” who they would “miss dearly”.
“We take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created,” they added.
“Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’s heart will beat for eternity.”
His career, which spans more than 75 years, saw him achieve 28 Grammy award wins out of 80 nominations.
He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine.
Lionel Richie, who co-wrote We Are The World and was among the charity single’s featured singers, called Jones “the master orchestrator”.
Read more from Sky News:
Shocking moments from US election campaign
Elon Musk weighs in on euthanised squirrel row
Jones, a father of seven, was married three times to Jeri Caldwell, Ulla Andersson and Peggy Lipton.
His children include music producer Quincy Jones III and actress Rashida Jones, known for Parks And Recreation and the US version of The Office.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway