Rami Malek says Daniel Craig deserves Oscar for his final turn as James Bond
1 October 2021, 14:16 | Updated: 1 October 2021, 14:23
Rami Malek, who appears in No Time To Die alongside Daniel Craig, says he's be "very surprised" if he wasn't nominated for an Academy Award.
Rami Malek has weighed in on Daniel Craig's final portrayal of James Bond, saying it's worthy of an Oscar nod.
Malek who appears in No Time To Die as villain Lyutsifer Safin says he'd be "very surprised" if Craig wasn't at least nominated for his performance in his final outing as 007.
Read more: No Time To Die: Royals sparkle at James Bond premiere as Daniel Craig 'greatly relieved' new 007 film is finally being shown
Asked about whether or not Daniel Craig could be in the running for a Best Actor nomination for his fifth turn as Bond, Malek replied: "I would be a fool if I didn’t consider, if everyone didn’t consider this incredible actor to be in that position."
"The amount of stress, the work ethic, Daniel’s discipline on set that’s one thing. And then to add on his ability as an actor, it’s second to none."
Craig then jokingly interjected Malek's reply saying: "I get the sympathy award!”
Malek then went on to add: "There’s sophistication, elegance, nuance, humour that I think should be rewarded and regarded in his performance and I would be very surprised if it wasn’t this year.”
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No Time To Die is stacked with former Oscar winners and nominees, featuring Christoph Waltz as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Ralph Fiennes as M, and Malek himself who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his incredible portrayal of Queen's Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.
The latest Bond film also sees returns for Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, as well as new addition Lashana Lynch who plays new 00 agent Nomi.
NO TIME TO DIE | Final US Trailer
Rami Malek isn't the only one who thinks Daniel Craig deserves recognition for his performance in No Time To Die.
The highly-anticipated final installment of Craig's arch sees Bond come out of retirement to fight the new threat from a sinister crime organisation and Malek's villain Lyutsifer Safin, as he also contends with his mysterious love interest Dr. Madeleine Swann played by Lea Seydoux.
Read more: No Time To Die review: 'Genre-bending' Bond film is 'relentless' but worth the wait
Released in cinemas across the UK this week, it's received rave reviews across the board due to its intelligent performances and spectacular action sequences.
During the interview, Craig and Malek also mention the epic credits scene, a staple of Bond films throughout the years.
The song for No Time To Die was tackled by pop sensation Billie Eilish this time round.
Billie Eilish - No Time To Die
Read more: Billie Eilish performs spellbinding first live rendition of new Bond theme - see all the BRITs winners here
Craig gushed: “She just knocked it out the park. I just can’t wait for people to sit in the cinema, we’ve got a pre-credit tile sequence which is very exciting and then Billie Eilish starts singing, what more can you want?”
Rami then added: “That Billie Eilish moment on the film, it took me a second before I realised what was happening and then my mouth went agape, it is pretty extraordinary.”
Listen to the full interview on Smooth Radio's sister station Capital here.
