Daniel Craig: James Bond star says he is not 'grumpy' and loves his job despite reputation

Rebecca Speare-Cole3 November 2019
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Daniel Craig has insisted he isn't "grumpy" despite his reputation - but admitted he doesn't do much to try and change people's perception.

The James Bond star, 51, said he actually loves what he does but that when he was growing up people trying to be artists didn't seek approval.

Discussing how he is perceived, Craig told The Sunday Times Culture: "I don't do much to dispel it, because I'd just be chasing my tail to prove that I'm not the person people think I am.

"You know, I probably don't have a particularly good public persona.

007 James Bond 25: Daniel Craig filming 'No Time To Die'

1/12

"Some do. Some can go on talk shows and tell stories, but I'm just not wired that way. I don't know what to say.

"I can try, but people would go, 'What's he doing?' They'd go, 'Where is the grumpy f*****?"'

He added: "But I'm not grumpy. Genuinely, I'm not... I love what I do."

Daniel Craig as James Bond
PA

The 007 star went on: "But I just grew up in an era when, if you were trying to be an artist, you didn't look for approval. You didn't look for likes.

"You just did your thing. And this? This is what I do.

"Who am I personally? It has nothing to do with anybody, except for the people in my life."

The first official poster for the new James Bond film, No Time Time To Die, featuring star Daniel Craig.
PA

The actor is set to reprise the role of the suave spy in new film No Time To Die, which is due to be released next year.

The film will be Craig's fifth and reportedly final outing as Bond.

He said the cast and crew are "pulling out all the stops" for the eagerly anticipated film.

"We're trying to make the best f****** Bond movie we can," he said.

"Pulling out all the stops.

"If we aim for the stars, we might hit the treetops."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in