Daniel Craig’s enthusiasm for returning to the role of James Bond has vacillated wildly over the last few years, from a smiling-but-not-with-his-eyes apex as the press tour for next year’s No Time To Die approaches, to comments from back in 2015 (directly after the release of Spectre), in which he suggested that he’d literally prefer to slash his own wrists rather than suit up in one of those goddamn dapper tuxedos ever again.
And so it was hard not to detect a note of weary relief in Craig’s taciturn voice last night, when he confirmed to Stephen Colbert that “It’s done,” and that he won’t be returning to the franchise—presumably not even if they back up yet another big truck of money to his door to try to entice him back.
Craig was on The Late Show to promote his upcoming murder mystery Knives Out (and also, as always, to get razzed about how much Colbert likes his wife, Rachel Weisz, more than him). The two deftly talked around the productions problems that have plagued the 25th Bond film—outside of highlighting Craig’s personal plea for Killing Eve’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge to come inject a little more life into the script—instead focusing on more palatable fare, like Craig’s multi-layered appreciation for co-star Rami Malek. But the actor doesn’t really seem to light up until they get to the end, when he confirms that he’s done with the part, and happily daydreams about the ways he’ll be able to ruin his body now that he’s no longer contractually obligated to keep himself James Bond-shaped.