Shaken Daniel Craig bids stirring farewell to James Bond

Daniel Craig appeared slightly shaken when bidding a stirring adieu to the James Bond character he played in five films including the upcoming “No Time To Die.”

“A lot of people here worked on five pictures with me, and I know there’s a lot of things said about what I think about these films or all of those, whatever,” he said addressing the cast and crew in a video that was shot at the end of shooting in 2019 but widely shared on Friday. “But I’ve loved every single second of these movies, and especially this one because I’ve gotten up every morning and I’ve had the chance to work with you guys. And that has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”

Craig’s tenure as the British super spy, has been hugely successful, critically and at the box office, but the actor hasn’t always been thrilled about playing Agent 007. In 2016, he told Time Out he’d been left so exhausted by the film series that he couldn’t imagine playing Bond again.

“I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment,” he answered. “Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”

There have been 25 Bond films. Craig, 53, has starred in a fifth of them. Late actors Sean Connery and Roger Moore played the role seven times apiece.

“No Time To Die” is due out Oct. 8. Its release has been delayed several times due to the specter of the pandemic. It was supposed to open in April 2020, but the world changed a month before that due to COVID-19. Producers then eyed April 2021, but that proved too optimistic, bringing the October release date.