NYT’s Maureen Dowd talks to Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig in Skyfall

Maureen Dowd, one of the star columnists of The New York Times, has AN ARTICLE in the newspaper where she talks to 007 star Daniel Craig.

Dowd’s piece covers a lot more than just Bond, including the play Betrayal, where he’ll appear with his wife Rachel Weisz. But Dowd’s piece does contain what’s emerging as one of the main talking points of Bond 24, due out in the fall of 2015. Mainly, that Bond 24 should lighten up compared with the actor’s first three 007 films. Here’s an excerpt:

Since the dazzling “Skyfall” — which earned $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Bond film ever and the most profitable movie in British history — Mr. Craig is enjoying the role more. He, the director Sam Mendes (an ex-boyfriend of Ms. Weisz’s) and one of the “Skyfall” screenwriters, John Logan, are all on board for the 24th Bond film, due out in the fall of 2015.

Mr. Craig hopes that, without returning to Pink Pantherville, they can start to instill a bit of the arch humor of Roger Moore, the first Bond he saw at the age of 7.

“We’ve got it all to play with, and we should play with it, and we should have some fun with it,” he said.

He draws a distinction between acting and modeling (though he concedes that he does both as Bond). “There’s a lot of modeling in films now,’ ” he said, adding wryly: “I do a movie where I have to turn around a lot. I want to kill myself sometimes, but sometimes you have to go, O.K., right, this is the moment when I have to turn around.”

Dowd primarily writes about politics, but often segues into entertainment. Her ENTRY IN WIKIPEDIA says, “Dowd, who perceives her columns to be an exploration of politics, Hollywood, and gender related topics, often uses popular culture to support and metaphorically enhance her political commentary.”

To read the entire story, titled, “The Vulnerable Mr. Bond,” CLICK HERE.

To read more about Maureen Dowd, check out, THE REDHEAD AND THE GRAY LADY, a profile in New York magazine published several years ago.

UPDATE: The New York Times Magazine’s Web site has a slide show called “The Bond Market.” You can view it by CLICKING HERE.

UPDATE II (Sept. 8): Maureen Dowd has a longer article about the stage production of Betryal titled TWO’S COMPANY, THREE’S A SHOW. Here’s an excerpt:

Will audiences be able to wrap their heads around James Bond as a cuckold?

“I hope they won’t be able to,” Mr. Craig says, appearing delighted at the thought. “I hope they’ll get unnerved by it.”

The 45-year-old Mr. Craig is notoriously private about his romance with the 43-year-old Ms. Weisz: They wouldn’t be interviewed as a pair; when I talk to them and their fellow Briton and co-star, Rafe Spall, they avoid sitting next to each other; when the photos are taken, Mr. Craig chafes at looking too lovey-dovey.

“Someone called us a power couple the other day,” he marvels. “I was like, what the” — he drops in an expletive — “does that mean? We just keep ourselves to ourselves.”