In a recent interview with the U.K.'s Sunday Times, Daniel Craig revealed that embodying his character in Luca Guadagnino's "Queer," amidst his duties as James Bond, would have been an impossibility. The film, adapted from William S. Burroughs' semi-autobiographical 1985 novella of the same name, casts Craig as William Lee, an American expatriate who becomes enraptured with Eugene Allerton (played by Drew Starkey), a discharged U.S. Navy serviceman.
"I couldn't have embarked on this endeavor while still donning the Bond suit," Craig confessed to the Sunday Times. "It might have appeared as a mere reaction, a desperate bid to showcase my versatility."
He elaborated, "Initially, when I was with Bond, I believed I needed to diversify my portfolio, but that wasn't the case. I was ascending the ranks of stardom, whatever that entails, and filmmakers eagerly sought my presence in their projects. It was astonishing. While most actors languish in unemployment for extensive periods, I was flooded with offers—yet, they left me feeling hollow. Ultimately, I was well-compensated. However, the emotional toll of portraying Bond left me utterly drained, requiring a six-month recovery period. I always held the belief that life should precede work, but when work temporarily took precedence, it wore me down."
Between 2006 and 2021, Craig portrayed the iconic British Secret Service agent in five Bond films, beginning with "Casino Royale" and culminating in "No Time to Die."
Elsewhere in his conversation with the Sunday Times, Craig dismissed the notion that playing a gay character while still leading the Bond franchise would serve as a commentary on masculinity. "It's just not a dialogue I wished to engage in," he clarified. "I've grappled with that throughout my Bond tenure. Could there be this Bond? That Bond? Anything that would stir such discourse? No—life is too fleeting for that."
