He played James Bond for an impressive 15 years.
Yet Daniel Craig has revealed he only took on his 007 role after the advice of legendary film director Steven Spielberg, who insisted: 'It's a winner.'
The 53-year-old actor - who bowed out of his role as Bond in 2021's No Time to Die after five movies - has revealed he only agreed to play the iconic spy for Casino Royale back in 2006 after he happened to bump into Steven in a hotel.
Career-changing moment: Daniel Craig, 53, took on his 007 role at the advice of legendary film director Steven Spielberg, who insisted: 'It's a winner'
The pair had worked together the year before on historical drama Munich, which told an account of Operation Wrath of God, the Israeli government's secret retaliation against the Palestine Liberation Organization after the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Daniel told The Sun: 'Steven was in the same hotel by chance. Can you get a more Hollywood moment? And I went, "Would you read this [script] please?" He read it very quickly and said, "You have to do it!"'
The star went on to explain that it was 'very important' for a someone in showbusiness as high up as Steven to be 'inspired' by the role before he chose to accept it.
Friends in high places: The actor revealed he only agreed to play the iconic spy for Casino Royale back in 2006 after he happed to bump into Steven in a hotel
However, despite receiving the confidence of Steven - who has won Oscars for directing films such as Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan - Daniel still found himself to be 'nervous' about taking on the mammoth role, but knew it was 'going to be good'.
He said: 'I was working with incredible directors in some amazing movies. I was nervous. I thought, "I don’t want to do Bond and ruin all that." But I read the Casino Royale script. It was like, "OK, this is going to be good."'
Meanwhile, Daniel revealed he was originally told he'd have to star in four James Bond films by boss Barbara Broccoli, leading him to ask if the character could be 'killed off'.
The actor confessed it was 'a lot' being told he'd have to make such a commitment to the part, setting the stage for the agent's surprise death many years later.
Way back: The pair worked together on historical 2005 drama Munich, which told an account of Operation Wrath of God at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Speaking on the Awards Chatter podcast, Daniel said that he felt Bond was 'happy and fulfilled' when he finally met his maker, while detailing the moment he became 'choked up' during his final day of filming.
Daniel explained that after his first Bond outing in Casino Royale in 2006 he had asked Broccoli how many he had to make.
He said: 'I was sitting in the back of a black Mercedes driving away from the Berlin premiere of Casino Royale with Barbara Broccoli in the back - just me and her - everything was good, the movie was doing great, it was like 'we'd done it, it was time for a bit of celebration'.
'I said "how many of these movies do I have to make?" And she was like 'four'. And I was like "oh, really? That's a lot?"
'I said ''OK, if I make four can I kill him off at the end?'' And she paused, and she just went ''yes''.
Open: The actor confessed it was 'a lot' being told he'd have to make such a commitment to the part, setting the stage for the agent's surprise death many years later
'I had a sort of plan in my head, I don't know what the plan was, that if we got it right and if we got it to a place, then they needed
