Daniel Craig’s three favorite James Bond movies

James Bond has been a staple of pop culture for more than 70 years, starting with the publication of Ian Fleming’s original novel Casino Royale. 007 ended up being a much bigger fixture, culturally speaking, when these novels were adapted into feature films, Starting with the iconic box office hit that was Dr. NO in 1962. But Fleming’s first novel would serve as the inspiration for Daniel Craig’s first turn as Bond, James Bond, in 2006’s Casino Royale, which is widely regarded as a high point for the series. But what is Craig’s favorite movie? The actor actually has three.

Craig’s run as 007 extended to a total of five films – Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Specter and No Time to Die. The actor was initially a controversial choice to play James BondBut he quickly dispelled any doubts once the first installment hit theaters. During the press tour for “Casino Royale” in a 2006 interview with Chud.comCraig was asked about his favorite James Bond movie. At the time, he listed two:

“Dr. No and from Russia with love. They’re wonderful, they’re just the best, they’re two of my favorite movies. , it’s a great character, it’s something he’s created that’s lasted so long.

Later in the 2021 interview with GqCraig returned to the subject. Faced with this question again, he again cited two classic Sean Connery Bond films as personal favorites, but added another to the mix:

“I think Goldfinger is my favorite James Bond movie. I love Dr. No, but it was somehow where Sean Connery became the James Bond we know and love.”

What’s interesting is that, taken as a whole, Craig chose the first three records of Connery’s run as the bond. It’s, all things considered, a damn fine choice if you were to ask most fans of the franchise. “Dr. No” helped set up the entire enterprise From Russia With Love still ranks as one of the greatest Bond films ever made. As for Goldfinger, it’s still pretty much the archetype of what a James Bond movie should be, from the villain to the gadgets and yes, the Bond girls. It’s all there.

While Craig didn’t cast Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby or Timothy Dalton, who have also put their marks on the character over the years, that’s not to take anything away from what they’ve accomplished. Most interesting of all, however, is that Craig exercised restraint in subsequent interviews, not choosing his own films that he would be well within his rights.

Save for “Quantum of Solace” and “Spectre,” Craig’s other entries are anywhere from good to as good as movies get. “Casino Royale” is still considered as perhaps the greatest Bond film. How “Skyfall,” it remains the biggest box office hit in Bond history, with $1.1 billion to its name. (It’s also, for good reason, absolutely disingenuous.) Would it be a little helpful to name those movies as the actor who created them? Maybe, but it would be hard to argue with that.

However, Craig kept it classy and showed his love for Connery, the actor who started it all. It also makes sense given that Craig is now well into his 50s. He was a young lad when Connery was doing his thing as 007, and these were definitely form films for him, in much the same way ’90s kids had an affinity for Brosnan’s Goldeneye. That’s the nature of the fandom for this franchise.

You can grab The James Bond Collection on Blu-ray from Amazon.