Daniel Craig: ‘My hand was over my mouth’ for One Movie That He Didn’t Believe Was Possible Would Make James Bond Flinch in Terror

SUMMARY

• While he is probably glad he finally exited from the role, Daniel Craig became a global star when he portrayed Agent 007 in the James Bond franchise.
• The actor, however, has branched out to other roles even while he played Bond, with David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo being a high-profile project.
• However, the horror of playing Bond for fifteen years did not even come close to the initial horrifying scenes that Craig reportedly saw from Fincher's film.

Daniel Craig is best known for his role as Agent 007 in the James Bond films. Starting with 2006’s Casino Royale, the actor played the role for fifteen years, ending his tenure with 2021’s No Time To Die. The actor was reportedly happy to exit the role and has since starred in Knives Out and will be seen in the upcoming Queer.

However, one film reportedly trumped his horror at playing Bond repeatedly.  The actor spoke about the early scenes that director David Fincher showed from their collaboration The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Craig mentioned that he was horrified at the visuals and could not believe the free rein he got from the studio.

Daniel Craig Was Horrified After Watching Early Visuals Of David Fincher’s Thriller

James Bond in Skyfall | Credits: Sony Pictures

Director David Fincher does not shy away from going deep into the macabre. His films always show the darkest side of society, going deep into the psyche of serial killers and other destructive individuals. Be it his breakthrough mystery Se7en or his political thriller Fight Club, his dark and muted visuals present his pitch-dark world.

After working on the second James Bond film i.e. the underwhelming Quantum of Solace, actor Daniel Craig worked on numerous other projects until 2012’s Skyfall. The actor played roles in films like Defiance, Cowboys vs Aliens, and more. He also joined David Fincher’s follow-up to his highly-rated biographical drama The Social Network.

A still from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Credits: Sony Pictures

Craig played the Swedish disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist in Fincher’s adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The thriller saw the filmmaker go back to his serial killer film roots and also starred Rooney Mara. Craig revealed to Esquire (via ScreenRant) that he was horrified by the early visuals that Fincher showed him.

I grew up, as we f**king all did, watching ‘The Godfather’ and that, movies that were made for adults. And [‘Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’] is a $100 million R-rated movie. Nobody makes those anymore. And Fincher, he’s not holding back. [The studio has] given him free rein. He showed me some scenes recently, and my hand was over my mouth, going, ‘Are you f**king serious?’

The novel by Stieg Larsson already dealt with heavy themes like loss, corruption, r*pe, and systemic problems. Fincher did not shy away from exploring deep into these themes, setting them in the bleak winters of Sweden. Craig mentioned that the violence shown was a portrayal of how things were in reality and not just graphic stuff.

David Fincher Believed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Was A Swing And A Miss

Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Credits: Sony Pictures

While David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, the film was not a huge earner at the box office. The film only grossed over $232 million at the box office against a $90 million budget (via BO Mojo). This essentially canceled a planned two-part sequel which was set to be filmed together.

Fincher has since moved on from the project and seems to have a healthy approach to the financial failure of the film. He said to EW,

We did it the way that we could. And when people said it cost too much for what the return on investment was, I said, ‘Okay, swing and a miss.’

The film series eventually received a soft reboot with The Girl in the Spider’s Web which did not feature either Daniel Craig or Rooney Mara. The film was a box office bomb.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is available to stream on Max.

Written by Nishanth A

Articles Published: 1380

Nishanth A is a Media, English and Psychology graduate from Bangalore. He is an avid DC fanboy and loves the films of Christopher Nolan. He has published over 1,000 articles on FandomWire. When he's not fixating on the entire filmography of a director, he tries to write and direct films.