Emmy-winning writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge was hired to punch up the “No Time To Die” Bond script precisely because she is a great writer, according to Daniel Craig.
Craig gave a furious response to a reporter for the Sunday Times who asked if the “Fleabag” writer, star, and creator was a diversity hire to include more women on the latest Bond film.
“Look, we’re having a conversation about Phoebe’s gender here, which is f***ing ridiculous,” he replies. “She’s a great writer. Why shouldn’t we get Phoebe onto Bond?”
Craig himself is partially responsible for hiring Waller-Bridge. The Bond actor and wife Rachel Weisz are big fans of both “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve”, which was also created by Waller-Bridge, and allegedly requested to get her involved in “No Time To Die”.
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“She’s just brilliant. I had my eye on her ever since the first ‘Fleabag’, and then I saw ‘Killing Eve’ and what she did with that and just wanted her voice,” he adds. “It is so unique — we are very privileged to have her on board.”
The actor, 51, clapped back when asked if having Waller-Bridge on board was a way to bring Bond into a more inclusive world, representative of the #MeToo era.
“I know where you’re going but I don’t actually want to have that conversation,” he states. “I know what you’re trying to do but it’s wrong. It’s absolutely wrong. She’s a f***ing great writer. One of the best English writers around. I said, ‘Can we get her on the film?’ That’s where I came from.”
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Waller-Bridge previously shot down claims she was a gender diversity hire on the project, telling Deadline: “There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not [the Bond franchise] is relevant now because of who he is and the way he treats women. I think that’s bollocks. I think he’s absolutely relevant now. It has just got to grow. It has just got to evolve, and the important thing is that the film treats the women properly. He doesn’t have to. He needs to be true to this character.”
