Daniel Craig always wanted to 'kill off' James Bond

Daniel Craig knew within days of 'Casino Royale's release that he wanted James Bond to die.

The 54-year-old actor made his debut as the suave spy in the 2006 movie and hadn't expected his tenure to last more than one movie, but after seeing the positive reception to the film, he asked producer Barbara Broccoli to come up with a long-term plan for the character.

He said: “I was driving away from the Berlin premiere of 'Casino Royale' with Barbara Broccoli.

“I had genuinely thought I would do one Bond movie, then it would be over. But by then we knew we had a hit on our hands. I realised the enormity of it, so I said to Barbara, ‘How many more? Three? Four?’ She said, ‘Four!’ I said, ‘OK. Then can I kill him off?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ "

Despite the agreement, Daniel returned for a fifth movie, 2021's 'No Time To Die', but he admitted planning for Bond's death had to be kept secret because studio bosses weren't thrilled at the idea of killing off the iconic character.

He recalled to Sunday Times Culture magazine: “I said, ‘This is it. I don’t want to do any more.’

“If we kill Bond, we can begin again. I think Barbara thought that too. But, bless them, the studio, MGM, were, like, ‘What are you talking about? Are you out of your minds?’ There was reluctance. So we had to do it in secret, really.”

The film saw Bond killed in an explosion after opting to stay on an island after being deliberately infected by a biological weapon that would mean he could never again touch his lover Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) or their daughter, and Daniel felt it was the right way to bow out.

He said: “Real tragedy is when you have absolutely no choice. We had to find a way to make his death no choice. It was the happiest Bond had ever been because he’d found exactly what he was looking for. Like everyone on Earth, he was just looking for love.”