I’d love to watch an Indian action movie: Daniel Craig

Gaurav Malani / TNN / Updated: Jul 28, 2011, 14:30 IST

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In an exclusive interview, Hollywood superstar Daniel Craig speaks about his next Bond film, his upcoming projects, the public attention his marriage has garnered and his views on India.

I’d love to watch an Indian action movie: Daniel Craig

In an exclusive interview, Hollywood superstar Daniel Craig speaks about his next Bond film, his upcoming projects, the public attention his marriage has garnered and his views on India.
From his secretive marriage to Rachel Weisz to his next Bond film and an interesting lineup of films starting with ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ and continuing with ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ and ‘Dream House’, Daniel Craig is unarguably one of the most popular Hollywood names in India.In an exclusive interview to Gaurav Malani, he speaks about his next film Cowboys & Aliens, the next Bond film, the public attention his marriage has garnered and his views on India.
Would you consider the massive media attention that your marriage has garnered as a boon or a bane?
It’s a mixture of both...just like Cowboys and Aliens ;)

‘Aliens’ and ‘Cowboys’ have been the two favourite themes of Hollywood, per se. Does this film get the best of both worlds?
It sure does, the film is about these cowboys who unite together to fight Aliens to save their town and people. For me together they (themes) make the perfect action thriller – a gripping story about a band of disparate humans who have to unite to fight an enemy with vastly superior weapons. It’s an alien invasion that happens to be set in the 1870s rather than, say, the 1970s or in the future.

With so many films about Alien attacks being made in Hollywood, what different does this film has to offer?
I saw the title ‘Cowboys and Aliens’ and I thought ‘it’s going to be a send up, it’s going to be something funny’ And actually the script read straight. It’s funny but it wasn’t gags every minute and all that, it was a straight cowboy movie and then suddenly the aliens turn up. And I thought ‘OK, yeah, this is very interesting. I don’t know why they want me to do it but it sounds good’. And I spoke to my agent and said ‘I’d love to see this film because it will be a lot of fun’. The film is a mix of adventure and humour which is unusual.
Did you ever fancy playing a Cowboy character and why?
I’ve always wanted to play a cowboy. For me, it was the Clint Eastwood Westerns, like Fistful of Dollars and The Outlaw Josey Wales, the kind of dirty Westerns where they look like they don’t wash. I love those films. And like I said, I’ve always wanted to play a cowboy. It’s a fantastic genre
How was it working with a senior actor like Harrison Ford?
Harrison was great and it was a privilege to work with him. You learn a lot from him.
Is the camaraderie between you and Harrison Ford a major highlight of the film?
I think people are going to go with preconceived ideas; they are going to go ‘oh Jon Favreau who did Iron Man and Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig and it’s called Cowboys and Aliens and it’s going to be a send up’ And it’s not. It’s not a send up. I want people to come along and enjoy the story and it’s all about the story and the way that Jon tells it – it’s not a comedy, it’s a great Western that happens to have aliens in it. I mean, what more could you want? The whole concept behind the story is the main highlight.
Which is your favourite Cowboy film?
I love Searchers. John Wayne was just terrific in the movie.
Which is your favourite Alien film?
I’ll vote for Independence Day.
What is the scene with the next James Bond movie?
The next Bond will start in October or November. I’ve kind of already started preparing for Bond. The script is in really, really good shape and I’m sure there will still be changes because that’s just the way it is. But if we shot the script we have at the moment, we’d be in a good way. I’m very excited about it and I’m delighted that Sam (Mendes) is going to direct it.
The last time James Bond came to India was in 1983 for ‘Octopussy’. Is he coming back to India again with the next Bond film?
Too early to talk about it...
Have you been to India? What do you think of the country?
I think India is a beautiful country. Have heard a lot about it...the culture, bollywood... I would definitely like to visit India whenever I get a chance.
Have you seen any Indian films? What do you think about them?
I haven’t seen any Indian film but since I am a huge fan of action genre, so would love to watch some action movie.
Any Indian actor that you can recollect at the back of your mind?
Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan...
How important is the Indian market for any Hollywood film today?
I think it is quite important. There is a huge audience out there, who like watching Hollywood movies.
‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ and ‘DreamHouse’, you seem to have a fantastic lineup of films coming up.
I am glad that I got an opportunity to portray iconic characters like James Bond and now as Red Rackham in Tintin. Dream House was a lovely shooting experience and for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo... I loved every minute of it and I indeed feel lucky. The shoots were long but it was a great experience and working for David was just something I’ve always wanted to do. We had a lot of fun on that one – it was very long but we had a lot of fun.

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