Daniel Craig Compares Benoit Blanc To His James Bond

Daniel Craig opens up about the comparisons between Knives Out‘s Benoit Blanc and his James Bond, who he is playing a final time in No Time to Die. Craig first started playing the MI6 super spy in 2006’s Casino Royale, a reboot of Eon Productions’ franchise following the critical disappointments of Pierce Brosnan’s sequels. The film proved to be a massive critical and commercial success, launching Craig to international stardom.

This success would lead Craig to headline a number of high-profile American productions in the years that followed, including the sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens, David Fincher’s English-language adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Steven Soderbergh’s heist comedy Logan Lucky. He would ultimately find his highest acclaim outside of the Bond franchise with Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, portraying the peculiar private detective Benoit Blanc as he investigates the death of a mystery novelist and patriarch to a wealthy, dysfunctional family. Craig would earn a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the film and its box office success would see Johnson begin development on a sequel centered around Craig’s character, first at Lionsgate before shifting to Netflix with a third film also in development.

Craig caught up with the New York Times to discuss his final outing as Bond in No Time to Die. In reflecting on the differences between the MI6 super spy and the eccentric private detective in Johnson’s acclaimed murder mystery, Craig says it really comes down to the different genres and writing for each character, though did recall the amazement felt receiving Knives Out‘s script and how it reminded him of a moment in his Bond past. See what Craig said below:

“It’s just the nature of the part, though. Bond is what he is, and Benoit is very different. Not to be blunt, but as an actor, that’s my job, play parts that are different. I got the script for that, and I was like, really? It’s amazing, as it was when I got Casino Royale.”

Aside from having the same actor behind them, Craig’s comments are ultimately understandable about the differences between Blanc and Bond. The stricter and grittier nature of his performance as Ian Fleming’s spy stems from the more dramatic nature of his stories and genre whereas Johnson’s twist on the whodunnit formula leaves the door open for more humorous moments and personalities. It is interesting that Craig compares his amazement at receiving the Knives Out script to that of first getting the Casino Royale script, a high vote of praise to both pieces that would launch him into new franchises.

Early reviews for No Time to Die have begun pouring out and the consensus is largely positive for Craig’s final outing in the role, even if it occasionally falls into some of the franchise’s campier foibles. With the first Knives Out having set such a high bar with its mystery and critical reception, anticipation is certainly high for its recently wrapped sequel. Only time will tell if it can live u to these expectations when it arrives on Netflix sometime next year.

Source: NY Times

About The Author

Grant Hermanns
(1567 Articles Published)

Grant Hermanns is a News Writer, Interviewer and Hiring Manager for Screen Rant, having joined the team in early 2021. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. From there he joined the staff at ComingSoon.net and was its Associate Editor prior to coming over to Screen Rant.

To say he’s a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he’s not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog.

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