Daniel Craig says his James Bond is not as sexist and misogynistic as previous ones

The world has changed since the dashing, womanizing James Bond first arrived on page and screen, but Daniel Craig acknowledges the character hasn’t exactly changed with it.

Speaking in a new interview with Britain’s Esquire, the actor said it’s a “delicate balance” keeping the essence of 007 while also updating him for the present day.

“Hopefully, my Bond is not as sexist and misogynistic as [earlier incarnations],” he told the magazine. “The world has changed. I am certainly not that person. But he is, and so what does that mean? It means you cast great actresses and make the parts as good as you can for the women in the movies.”

The upcoming Spectre is Craig’s fourth outing as Bond, and he sees the character as one filled with “great sadness” despite the legendary womanizing.

“He’s very f—ing lonely,” he said. “There’s a great sadness. He’s f—ing these beautiful women but then they leave and it’s… sad. And as a man gets older it’s not a good look. It might be a nice fantasy – that’s debatable – but the reality, after a couple of months…”

Craig also spoke about his initial ambivalence of playing the iconic 007 and how he’s grown more comfortable in the role. “There’s kind of a rigidity to it,” he said. “You’re playing this very specific character and everybody starts looking at you in that way, and you’re like, ‘I’m not that.’ I did feel like, ‘I’ve got to look like I’m doing other stuff.’ But then it was, ‘Who for?’ So the public think, ‘Ooh, isn’t he versatile?’”

Only recently, with Spectre, did Craig truly feel at ease. “It was like, ‘F–k it. I’m James Bond, for f–k’s sake. So I’ll do James Bond,'” he said. “The fact of it is, it’s not a bad position to be in. I used to get asked all the time, ‘Don’t you worry that you’re going to get typecast?’ ‘And?’ I mean, talk about a high-class problem.”

Spectre opens in theaters Nov. 6. For more from Craig’s interview, head to Esquire U.K.

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