No Time To Die star, Daniel Craig, revealed the most challenging scene he had to shoot in his James Bond films. After several delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, No Time To Die finally saw the light of day at its world premiere, which took place at London's famous Royal Albert Hall over the past week and will open in theaters in the UK and many other markets worldwide on October 1st. The film, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective, Maniac), also marks Craig's final appearance as the charismatic superspy, and he is joined by recurring actors Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux and Christoph Waltz, who reprises his role as Blofeld from Spectre. The film also includes newcomers Lashana Lynch and Ana De Armas along with Rami Malek, who plays the primary antagonist, Lyutsifer Safin.
No Time To Die follows James Bond, who has left active service and is living a tranquil life in Jamaica, but is brought back into the fold when a friend asks him for help. As might be expected, Bond finds himself entangled in a dangerous world-destroying plot. The Daniel Craig era in the Bond franchise has been known for a myriad of outrageously exciting action sequences, from a duel on top of a train in 2012's Skyfall to the Bourne-esque rooftop chase scene in 2008's Quantum of Solace. Now, Craig has recalled which of those intense action scenes was the most difficult to shoot.
Craig recently sat down with GQ to discuss his time as the 007 agent and revealed that the opening chase sequence from Casino Royale is the most challenging he has ever done. The scene involves James Bond, who is in pursuit of a bomb maker named Mollaka (played by French freerunner Sébastien Foucan). The chase leads them to a treacherous construction site and eventually, onto the top of a crane. Craig mentioned that before shooting the scene, he had a fear of heights but was able to overcome it in due course. He also described the process of getting onto the scaffolding and running along the beams "which wasn't fun." Read his full comments below:
"The crane sequence in Casino was one of the most challenging and fun scenes, because when I started Casino Royale, I was afraid of heights. And after it, I wasn't. So, I had to go up about 60 feet onto scaffolding and... run along beams that were about six inches across, sixty feet up in the air, which wasn't fun, but it was challenging."
It wouldn't have been an easy feat to pull off a set-piece of this magnitude. The filmmakers and stunt coordinators took good advantage of the flourishing parkour trend at the time to add to the already adrenaline-fueled sequence. Not many actors would have been able to perform the vertigo-inducing stunt, and the fact that Craig got over his initial hesitancy almost immediately is a testament to his dedication and commitment to the physical aspects of the role as well.
The scene set the tone for the rest of the series following the recasting of Bond with Daniel Craig in 2005 and cemented his status as one of the best actors to play the celebrated role. The trailers of No Time To Die promise more of the exhilarating action-packed fiesta audiences have been treated to for the last 15 years with Craig. The film currently holds a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes at 83%, and if early reviews for No Time to Die are anything to go by, fans will surely not be disappointed. The film releases nationwide on October 8 for American audiences.
Source: GQ
