While promoting Rian Johnson‘s upcoming Star Wars followup Knives Out, actor Daniel Craig tore into a reporter for asking whether Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s hiring for rewrites on No Time to Die was based primarily on her being a woman. Of course, the man who has been playing James Bond since 2006’s Casino Royale admitted to understanding why the question was asked, but that didn’t stop him from negating its premise entirely and defending Waller-Bridge — a recent Emmy winner, by the way — from similar scrutiny.
The Killing Eve creator has already spoken at length about her involvement in the 25th Bond film. When asked about it by The Sunday Times, though, Craig wasted little time in disabusing them of the topic. As IndieWire reports, the actor began, “Look, we’re having a conversation about Phoebe’s gender here, which is f*cking ridiculous… She’s a great writer. Why shouldn’t we get Phoebe onto Bond?” And he didn’t stop there:
“I know where you’re going, but I don’t actually want to have that conversation,” the actor said. “I know what you’re trying to do, but it’s wrong. It’s absolutely wrong. She’s a f*cking great writer. One of the best English writers around. I said, ‘Can we get her on the film?’ That’s where I came from.”
“She’s just brilliant,” Craig added. “I had my eye on her ever since the first Fleabag, and then I saw Killing Eve and what she did with that and just wanted her voice. It is so unique — we are very privileged to have her on board.”
Of course, Waller-Bridge has had no issues discussing her No Time to Die involvement and side-stepping an otherwise silly conversation altogether. Though it’s nice to know that Craig is more than willing to cut the crap and sing her praises on the record.
(Via The Sunday Times)
