'If they will have me': James Bond star Daniel Craig wants to retire to Ireland

His appearance comes ahead of the latest Bond film No Time To Die which will be released in Irish cinemas on September 30.

James Bond star Daniel Craig has revealed he is thinking about retiring to Ireland.

The English actor appeared on The Late Late Show on Friday to talk about his time as 007 and how it feels to be saying goodbye to the iconic character after 15 years in the role.

His appearance comes ahead of the latest Bond film No Time To Die which will be released in Irish cinemas on September 30.

Joining host Ryan Tubridy via video link from London, Craig was asked if he would consider spending some upcoming time off in Ireland.

“Yes, I mean, I love Ireland,” he replied. “I think I want to retire to Ireland if they will have me,” he laughed.

 

Craig said he felt “very happy and grateful” to have made one more Bond film that will launch in cinemas.

“Obviously, a lot has happened over the past year and a bit, and this is so low down the list of priorities, but it was just the hope that we would manage to get it into the cinemas and here we are - we got a premiere and everything,” he said.

“So, I am just... I am very excited about all of that.” 

Asked if he continued to enjoy playing the 007 role over the years, Craig said he was “worried that I would kind of get sick of it and I never did.” 

“As long as there was somewhere we could take it and we could sort of go somewhere new and there was always something fresh to do then I was happy, I was very happy with it,” he said.

“It’s odd, I mean I have never played a role over and over and over again. I think it really snapped into focus in this film that it is a character I play... and who it is, and I won’t ever do that again. I suppose that is quite moving, that makes me quite emotional.” 

'Got the wrong guy'

Separately on Friday, Craig said he thought the makers of James Bond had “got the wrong guy” when he was offered the part.

Joining host Ryan Tubridy via video link from London, Craig was asked if he would consider spending some upcoming time off in Ireland.

The actor made the comment at a Bafta event in London which looked back on his career ahead of the release of the new film in the franchise.

Craig, 53, first played 007 in 2006’s Casino Royale and is preparing for the release of his fifth and final James Bond film, No Time To Die.

During the event on Friday, Craig said he initially expressed doubt about being cast in the role during a conversation with producer Barbara Broccoli.

He said he told Broccoli: “Thank you, flattering, but I think you’ve got the wrong guy.

“Maybe you’re auditioning lots of people and you’re sort of trying to get a picture of it.” 

Speaking at the event, Craig added: “Barbara had already made up her mind.

“You know, if you know Barbara, that means she’s made up her mind. It was just odd.” 

He added: “You know, people used to say, ‘Oh you must have always wanted to be James Bond’.

“I went, ‘Well, yeah, kind of as a kid I kind of thought about it. I want to be Spiderman as well, but I just thought it was never going to happen’.” 

—Additional reporting by Press Association.