Let's face it, the Queen, or any of the Royals for that matter, isn't exactly known for excitement. In fact, some would say that she's quite stuffy. Aside from her cool car collection, she's not exactly known for being fun or adventurous. This is the opposite of any of the descriptives we'd use to describe James Bond, especially the current star, Daniel Craig.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons the producers of the London 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony wanted to pair them together. It's a natural fit really. After all, James Bond is all about defending "Queen and Country". So, in a sort of meta-moment, why not have Daniel Craig dressed up as James Bond interacting with the Queen?
The moment was a smash-hit at the already star-studded Opening Ceremony. The vast majority of the bit was a filmed segment directed by Slumdog Millionaire filmmaker Danny Boyle. In the bit, Daniel (as James Bond) arrives at Buckingham Palace to inform Her Majesty that she is needed at the Ceremony. He then takes her to a chopper and she parachutes down into the stadium where she's officially introduced to the hundreds of millions of viewers.
It was hilarious, memorable, and a downright brilliant idea.
But what did Daniel Craig actually think of it? Turns out, he had some thoughts...
Daniel Didn't Really Think He Had To Do It
While promoting the release of Daniel Craig's third outing as James Bond, Skyfall, the topic of his collaboration with Queen Elizabeth II came up. This happened on the hilarious and long-running British chat show, The Graham Norton Show.
Even though Daniel Craig was accompanied by his Skyfall co-stars, Javier Bardem and Dame Judi Dench, the first question was all for him...
"We gotta talk about the last time we saw you as Bond," Graham Norton began, "with Her Majesty at the Olympics."
"Mhm," Daniel responded somewhat disinterested.
"How long was that in the planning?"
"Um, quite a long time. Danny Boyle came to visit me on set," Daniel began to describe. "He sat me down and told me what he wanted to do. And I walked out and I thought 'f*** that guy'. I really thought he was just pulling my leg. So, um, the whole kind of thing, um, came about. And the next thing I know, I'm at the palace."
"Cause you must have thought 'Oh, I'll agree to it but it'll never happen'...?" Graham asked.
"Well, I thought they hadn't got the 'Okay' from the palace but apparently they got that first. And then asked me. So, I didn't have much choice."
"Imagine if you turned it down..."
This wouldn't be entirely out of character for the incredibly fit James Bond actor as he's been very vocal about his dislike of certain obligations. This includes how he claimed he'd rather harm himself than do another Bond movie. Of course, he was convinced and will return for the final time in the highly-anticipated No Time To Die.
There Was A Bit Of Improv Involved With It All
"I heard you had to do a bit of improv with the desk," Graham said, leading Daniel on to describe more of his experience with Queen Elizabeth II.
"Yeah, she does improv every Friday night," Daniel laughed. "She, ah, she kind of invented some stuff to do. She asked if she could maybe pretend to write a letter. So she was doing something as I walked in, which I thought was very good."
Then the discussion turned to how grumpy Queen Elizabeth looked at the actual ceremony, something that's since become a meme. Graham shared a theory about why she appeared so grumpy at an event that beautifully celebrated the athletic, creative, and economic talents of her great country.
"Is it because she didn't understand that for continuity, she'd have to wear that salmon dress again on the night?"
Of course, the segment was filmed earlier, and since it was supposed to look like James Bond actually picked her up to take her to the event, she had to wear the same outfit. As did the stunt person who jumped out of the helicopter as Queen Elizabeth II.
"Do you think she knew that?" Graham half-jokingly asked Daniel.
"I don't know..."
This is when Dame Judi Dench jokingly stated that she was insulted that she wasn't asked to be a part of the whole segment. After all, she did play 'M' for more movies than Daniel was apart of at that time.
By Daniel's clear indifference to the whole thing, going with Judi Dench may have been a good choice. Mind you, Daniel Craig pulled it off swimmingly, helping to create a bit that we'll remember for a very long time.