Daniel Craig says playing James Bond gave him anxiety

Daniel Craig has spoken out about the anxiety he felt over playing James Bond.

The actor, who returns for his fifth and final outing as the spy in No Time To Die, revealed that his mental health suffered during his years with the franchise, and he also found the physicality of preparing for the films difficult.

Discussing his anxiety, he told GQ: “I have suffered from it in the past.

“I have suffered because it’s been like, ‘I can’t cope. I can’t deal with this.’”

He added: “I was never going to do one again.

“I was like, ‘Is this work really genuinely worth this, to go through this, this whole thing?’ And I didn’t feel... I felt physically really low.

“So the prospect of doing another movie was just, like, off the cards.

“And that’s why it has been five years.”

His last appearance as Bond was in 2015’s Spectre, which at the time was reported to be his final film in the franchise.

The British actor also told of his regret over not airing his criticisms of the scripts for his previous four Bond films.

“I’ve kept my mouth shut before and I’ve stayed out of it and I’ve respected it and I’ve regretted that I did,” he told the magazine.

Looking ahead to life after Bond, Craig – who is married to actress Rachel Weisz – said that his future may involve “having another kid, maybe just being older”.

“But all of these things, I was just like, you know, f*** it,” he said. “There are other things that are more important.”

On future acting roles, he added: “I’m pretty sure I can play just about anything.

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure I can, or at least I can make a f***ing good fist of it.”

No Time To Die also stars Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch and Ana De Armas and is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, with a script co-written by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

It will be released in UK cinemas on 12 November.

Additional reporting by agencies

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