Daniel Craig has not come to terms with society’s idea of ​​masculinity, which he says was one of his “biggest reservations” about portraying MI6 secret agent James Bond in five films over 15 years.

“I would say one of my biggest reservations about playing (Bond) would be the construct of masculinity,” he said The New Yorker in a recent question-and-answer session while promoting Luca Guadagnino’s limited U.S. theatrical release Strange. “It was often very ridiculous, but you can’t make fun of it and expect it to work. You have to get involved with it.”

Craig, who has appeared since his portrayal of 007 in projects such as ” Strange and Rian Johnsons Knife out Universe, played the polite spy in 2006 Casino Royale2008 A quantum of comfort2012 skyfall, 2015s spook and 2021 No time to die. The actor has been vocal about leaving the franchise behind for good (ahem, spoilers, his character sacrifices himself at the end of the last blockbuster) and that he has no regrets about it, as well as his lack of involvement in finding a new bond.

“I mean, I’m always interested in human vulnerability,” he continued, linking the “artificial” concept of masculinity to the William S. Burroughs avatar in which he plays Strange. “We are all vulnerable. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter how tough you are, everyone is vulnerable. But it’s about how boys are raised, how men should behave, how someone like Burroughs should behave.”

He later added: “Listen, (Bond) is almost 20 years of my life. When I accepted it, I was a person. I am a completely different person now. I’m not making this film as a reaction to that. I’m not that small. But I couldn’t have made this film when I was making Bond. It would have felt kind of like, ‘Why? What are you trying to prove?'”

Elsewhere during the interview, Craig spoke about how he “suddenly felt kind of free” to move on to other projects after Bond, and how it felt to lose the “freedom…as a semi-anonymous person” after that franchise had skyrocketed him to fame.

It is set in 1950s Mexico City and is based on Burroughs’ novella of the same name (which was not published until 30 years later, in 1985). Strange follows Lee (Craig), an American ex-pat in his 40s who leads a lonely life in a small working-class and student community. The romantic drama unfolds with the arrival of Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), a young student whom Lee is determined to pursue.