Daniel Craig says James Bond should not be played by a woman

21 September 2021, 14:44 | Updated: 23 May 2022, 17:22

James Bond is back in No Time To Die TV spot

By Sam Prance

"Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?"

Daniel Craig has revealed that he doesn't agree with fans demanding for a woman to play the role of James Bond after him.

Ever since the first James Bond film came out over 50 years ago, the highly sought after role has been played exclusively by white men. To date, Bond has been portrayed Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Piers Brosnan and Daniel Craig. Now, people are petitioning for Bond to be played by a person of colour and/or a woman.

In response, Daniel, who currently plays Bond, has added his thoughts to the mix and his statements may surprise you.

READ MORE: Will Regé-Jean Page be the next James Bond?

Daniel Craig says James Bond should not be played by a woman
Daniel Craig says James Bond should not be played by a woman. Picture: Entertainment Pictures / Alamy Stock Photo, © MGM/Entertainment Pictures

In a recent interview with Radio Times, Daniel was asked if a female 007 should take on the role of Bond when he stops playing him. Daniel stated: "The answer to that is very simple. There should simply be better parts for women and actors of colour. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?"

While James Bond is still played by Daniel Craig for now, the upcoming James Bond film No Time Die features women front and centre. Lashanna Lynch has joined the cast as a new agent and Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was involved in the scripting process.

Discussing Phoebe's involvement, Daniel said: "She's got devilish humour. Her influence permeates a lot of this film. She walked that fantastic line of keeping it as a thriller and being very funny. But Phoebe didn’t come in to change Bond. She came in to spice it up for sure, but she’s a Bond fan – she wasn’t about to take him in a different direction."

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Whether or not Bond will change direction in future is yet to be seen. As well as demands for James Bond to be played by a woman, there have been multiple demands for an actor of colour to take on the role, with Idris Elba being one of the favourites to replace Daniel Craig in future films.

No Time to Die will be Daniel's last film as the spy but Eon Productions are yet to announce his successor.

Who do you think should play Bond next?