Daniel Craig thought his audition for James Bond was a joke

Daniel Craig has recalled his audition for the role of James Bond and how he thought the invite was initially a joke.

Speaking to The New York Times, Craig, whose last film as Bond is now in cinemas, admitted that he thought he would be someone who “was just amongst the mix – someone to dismiss”, he told the publication.

He went on to say that, at best, he thought he’d be offered a role of a villain: “Here you go, have a baddie,” he recalled.

Soon after the audition, he was cast as Ian Fleming’s famous spy, first playing the role in Casino Royale, which was released in 2006. His follow-up films were Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and the newly released No Time To Die, which is Craig’s final outing as Bond.

Reviewing the film this week, The Independent said: “Cary Joji Fukunaga has made a smashing piece of action cinema with No Time to Die – it’s just a shame it had to be a Bond film. For all the delays, the rumours around Danny Boyle’s departure, the months spent building up Daniel Craig’s final farewell in the role, what’s most disappointing about the film is how strangely anti-climatic the whole thing feels.

“[It’s a ] film that doesn’t quite know what to do or what it is – it only knows that Craig lies at the very heart of it.”

Meanwhile, Craig said it is “not” his problem who the next Bond will be, during an awkward interview exchange with an Australian reporter at the world premiere of No Time To Die.

The European correspondent for Nine News, Brett McLeod, asked the 007 alumni whether he would “do a Sean Connery” and reprise the role in the future, triggering a very blunt response from the star: “Nope, definitely not”.

The journalist continued by asking Craig whether he had “any preference” as to who should replace him as Bond, drawing out another point-blank response: “Not my problem”.

No Time To Die is in UK cinemas now and will be released on 8 October in the US.