Daniel Craig’s 007 Gay Role Terror: Movie Veteran, 56, Admits He Would Have Been too 'Terrified' to Shoot New Film 'Queer' During his Run As James Bond
Craig is set to play a gay character in the upcoming film 'Queer'.
Nov. 21 2024, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Daniel Craig has admitted he would have shutdown the idea of playing a gay character during his long run as James Bond in the 007 films.
In the film Queer, the 56-year-old plays Lee, an American in midcentury Mexico City who becomes all about a distant younger man, Allerton (Drew Starkey), and now the actor has opened up about his journey to play the character, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Craig plays a gay American in Mexico City in his upcoming film 'Queer'.
The A-list star last played the iconic Bond in 2021's No Time to Die, and the gap has allowed him to relax a bit now that he's not at the complete height of fame.
He shared with NY Times: “I’ve had to examine myself a lot over the past 20 years to try and deal with it. There was a time when I locked myself away. This is where the madness lies: You think, ‘I can’t go there because I’m so important.’”
Craig also praised pop star Chappell Roan, after she hit back against the dark side of fame following fan harassment.
The actor is best known for his turn as James Bond.
The movie star said: "I really admire the guts to say those things. Celebrity kills you. Really, it’s a terrible, terrible thing that can happen and I think you’ve got to really fight against all of the things that it throws in your face, because it’s so easy to be tempted.”
He added: "Generating and maintaining that brand is about how much exposure you have.”
The publication also asked Craig whether he ever felt pressure to become more of a brand than an actor.
Craig shared: “Am I a brand? You have to do social media, and I can’t do that. I even regret emails I send," and added he would have wanted nothing to do with Queer had he had been offered the role during his Bond days.
He admitted: "I wouldn’t have done it. I was so wrapped up in Bond and what that was, I would have been terrified of doing something like this.
"Especially early on with Bond, I was like, ‘This is enough. Stay in my lane.’”
Craig admitted he never would have done 'Queer' during his Bond run.
Despite his thoughts, the Knives Out star is still concern with what fans will think about his new risqué role.
He shared: "... Will the audience respond? You do have to take care of your audience in film, I think, but you can’t really be winking at them while you’re making it.”
Craig added: “I know lots of tough men in this world who are vulnerable, and I like to portray that in movies. That truth is interesting to me. Maybe watching someone like him yearn with such self-abasement can startle you into wondering whether you do, too."
Queer will have a limited released on November 27th.
'That truth is interesting to me,' Craig said on playing 'vulnerable' characters.
Meanwhile, now that Craig is done with the Bond character, many names have been thrown into the ring for his successor, including black actors if a particular director signs to handle the next film.
Sir Steve McQueen is in talks to take the director's chair for the next Bond film and that should pave the way for the franchise's first black 007.
A source told RadarOnline.com: "If Steve signs up, there will be massive changes. His films are hugely about shaking up the establishment to its core, and if he takes on Bond things will be no different."
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The insider added: "He’s an artist, and what he says goes – he is on Stanley Kubrick’s level that way. And if he wants a black Bond, that’s what will happen."
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