Craig also mentioned he doesn't have any interest in being a "celebrity" or the perks that come with it. He also revealed he will not be playing the role of James Bond anymore after the last movie comes out.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 20, 2021. It has since been updated.
Being an actor comes with several perks, including a lot of money. But, no matter how rich a person is, when they die, they will not be able to take the money they made with them to the grave; they have to leave it behind when they depart to the afterworld. Perhaps, this explains why James Bond actor Daniel Craig has given a fair bit of thought about what he's going to do with the millions he's made with his acting abilities, after his death. The Quantum of Solace actor—who is father to a three-year-old daughter, and stepson with his current wife, Oscar winner Rachel Weisz, and an adult daughter, Ella, with his ex-wife, actress Fiona Loudon—said that he's definitely not going to leave any money to his kids, even though he's not sure what he's going to do with it. According to Sky News, the actor's decision has been inspired by industrialist Andrew Carnegie. "I think Andrew Carnegie gave away what in today's money would be 11 billion dollars, which shows how rich he was because I'll bet he kept some of it too."
"I don’t want to leave great sums to the next generation. I think inheritance is quite distasteful," reported Yahoo News. "My philosophy is get rid of it or give it away before you go. Isn’t there an old adage that if you die a rich person, you’ve failed?" he added. Also, Craig spoke about how—despite being one of the most recognized action heroes in the industry—he doesn't have any interest in being a "celebrity" or the perks that come with it.
"It's nothing I should complain about really because I also have huge benefits out of being who I am," he said. "But the fact is that privacy is a hugely important part of my life, and this being a… celebrity… makes me nervous, actually."
But Craig, who has been playing the role of Bond for the longest time (14 years) said he'd “rather slash my wrists” than reprise the role, after filming Spectre, reports The Guardian. During the interview, back in 2015, he said that even if he did return to the franchise, it would only be for the money. However, the actor said that he wasn't worried about being typecast because the Bond movies “changed my working life in an incredible way.” He added, “There are more opportunities. I could do many, many things. But it takes an awful amount of time. If anything, the restriction is that it is incredibly time-consuming. That’s the restriction.”
“While you’re doing it, the tendency is just to be blinkered, and go, ‘Oh, you know, this is what it is,’” Craig says. "But I’ve thought about it more than ever, just because it’s my last one, and I’m incredibly proud and honored to have been a part of it in the way that I was. The reason I would want to get up every day and go to work is because I would look at the people I got to work with and go, ‘These are the best people in the industry.’ That’s off the charts. So I just think: if you can’t get excited about a Bond movie, what can you get excited about?”
As much as Craig's going to miss donning his spy hat, his fans are sure to miss him, too!
References:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/08/daniel-craig-id-rather-slash-my-wrists-than-do-another-bond-movie
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/daniel-craig-wont-leaving-great-115039297.html
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Slaven Vlasic
