"The idea of regretting not doing this seemed insane to me. Sitting in the corner at a bar at age 60, saying: 'I could've been Bond. Buy me a drink.' That's the saddest place I could be. At least now at 60 I can say: 'I was Bond. Now buy me a drink.'"
About this Quote
The subtext is that Bond isn’t just a job; it’s a cultural stamp that rewrites your biography. Craig knows the role is both jackpot and trap, a franchise that can swallow an actor’s range and public identity. So he preemptively reframes “being Bond” as a story he gets to own, not a brand that owns him. “I was Bond” becomes less brag than insurance: a credential that closes the loop, silences the hypothetical, and justifies the risk of taking on a part with brutal expectations and a fanbase that treats casting like theology.
Context matters: Craig entered Bond amid skepticism about his look and temperament, then helped drag the character into a more bruised, emotionally legible era. The line reads like a postmortem from someone who understands legacy is negotiated in public - and would rather be judged for the choice than haunted by not making it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Aging |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Craig, Daniel. (2026, January 15). The idea of regretting not doing this seemed insane to me. Sitting in the corner at a bar at age 60, saying: 'I could've been Bond. Buy me a drink.' That's the saddest place I could be. At least now at 60 I can say: 'I was Bond. Now buy me a drink.'. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-idea-of-regretting-not-doing-this-seemed-140186/
Chicago Style
Craig, Daniel. "The idea of regretting not doing this seemed insane to me. Sitting in the corner at a bar at age 60, saying: 'I could've been Bond. Buy me a drink.' That's the saddest place I could be. At least now at 60 I can say: 'I was Bond. Now buy me a drink.'." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-idea-of-regretting-not-doing-this-seemed-140186/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The idea of regretting not doing this seemed insane to me. Sitting in the corner at a bar at age 60, saying: 'I could've been Bond. Buy me a drink.' That's the saddest place I could be. At least now at 60 I can say: 'I was Bond. Now buy me a drink.'." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-idea-of-regretting-not-doing-this-seemed-140186/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.






