No Time to Die logo
It’s pretty clear that one recurring theme of No Time to Die’s publicity campaign, such as it is to date, is that Daniel Craig is the favorite and/or best James Bond of principals associated with the movie.
Barbara Broccoli (Hollywood Reporter podcast, December 2017): Craig “brought humanity to the character…making Bond relevant to today….My heart was breaking” until Craig said he’d return for Bond 25/No Time to Die.
The interviewer, Scott Feinberg, asked if Craig was the best of the six actors employed by Eon Productions. “They’ve (Bond actors) all been incredible. But he (Craig) is particularly incredible.”
Host of April 2019 “reveal” event from Jamaica: Referring to Craig, introduces a montage of Bond films scenes that she says shows how Craig made Bond “his own.”
No Time to Die director Cary Fukunaga, during the “reveal” event: “Daniel is my favorite James Bond.”
Rami Malek on The Late Show (CBS), Oct. 2, 2019: Craig “is my favorite Bond if I can say that.”
Is this a talking a point from the publicity department? Is it honest emotion from those concerned? You be the judge.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Barbara Broccoli, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Daniel Craig, Eon Productions, No Time to Die, Rami Malek, The Hollywood Reporter |
The Spy Command 
It’s publicity. Remember Hitchcock, when asked which of his movies was his favorite, would reply, “The next one.” You have to stay positive about your upcoming feature, it makes perfect sense from a marketing perspective.
I agree with you up to a point. However, can you imagine Albert R. Broccoli saying, “My heart was breaking up until Roger Moore signed for” Octopussy or A View to a Kill?
It seems most likely to be mere publicity but to, honestly, answer your question, I think it may be a bit of both. I think many would agree with me that, when you watch Craig in the role, it does occur to you that his take on it is, genuinely, pretty special.
A good question would be why wouldn’t it be honest emotion from each of them? Sure it makes for good publicity, but it’s not like a new Bond movie starring Daniel Craig is hurting publicity wise ever.
It would be strange if Daniel Craig weren’t Barbara Broccoli’s favorite actor to play James Bond. She was the one who first identified him as a possible candidate, pushed for him to get it against strong opposition, and had to weather the vast outpouring of negative fan sentiment until CASINO ROYALE was released. More so even than her brother, Michael, because again, Craig was identified as her choice.
Daniel Craig’s incredible success as James Bond was a complete and total validation of Barbara Broccoli’s instincts as a film producer. It’s her success as well as well as his, and it’s unlikely she’ll ever forget it.
As for Cory Fukunaga and Rami Malek, Daniel Craig is the James Bond they both got to work with and have their creativity as professionals engaged by. The Bond movies he’s starred in have at least attempted more substance and moral ambiguity than previous entries. SKYFALL (box office wise Craig’s most successful Bond movie) even had the villain succeeding in his plan. There’s definitely a sense with the Craig movies that there’s more willingness to take chances than ever before, even if those chances aren’t always successful.
No. He isn’t. My favorite remains Timothy Dalton. I also suspect that if George Lazenby had decided to continue, he’d be right up there.
[…] At this point, Waller-Bridge saving the movie is about to become a talking point in the marketing. We will also hear about how Daniel Craig is the best and/or favorite James Bond performer. […]