Daniel Craig‘s final James Bond movie No Time To Die has finally hit cinemas and will no doubt leave fans utterly thrilled. Perhaps the most jaw-dropping moments of the film come from the epic stunts teased in the film’s trailers – including intricate fight scenes, death-defying motorbike jumps, and pulse-racing car chases. Supervising stunt coordinator Olivier Schneider recently spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk about working closely with Daniel on these high-octane stunts, and finding the right time to tell the star to take a break.
Olivier explained how integral Daniel is to the entire Bond process, including the most thrilling moments.
He said: “Daniel is part of all the stunts in the film all the time. He tries everything, he wants to rehearse everything and be prepared for everything. Because he knows the action part of it goes with the costume of Bond, and he knows that.”
Daniel’s integrity to the role, and indeed the stunts, is why he has found himself injured so many times, Olivier explained.
He said: “He’s not preserving himself, he’s really going for it! He also wants to bring his own touch to the action scenes … so it’s very important for him to be there and do the maximum of things.”
However, this dedication to the role requires Olivier to sometimes step in and stop Daniel from going too far.
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Olivier explained: “My job is to evaluate the risk. Sometimes, I was the one with the responsibility to tell [Craig]: ‘You can’t do it!’ Or: ‘You can’t do that again!’
“He always tries to do it better and better, and that’s when you can get hurt. There is no need. I knew, watching the monitor together with the director, I was saying, you know: ‘You don’t need another take!'”
Olivier added that, once Craig is in “action mode” he “doesn’t want to stop” – but he had to.
He said: “He’s like a lion in [a] cage. You open the cage and he’s ready to go, and you have to say: ‘Okay, hold on stop! Take your time, do a warm-up, blah blah blah.'”
Olivier went on: “Because his character, his process when he arrives on set is he’s in the mood of action mode and then you have to … control that.”
Sometimes things do go wrong on set for Daniel, however.
He famously injured his knee during the shooting of a fight scene against Mr Hinx star Dave Bautista during Spectre.
Olivier was on set that day, and recalled: “On Spectre he had a knee issue, [and] ACL.”
Olivier continued: “But that happens. That’s something we couldn’t… there was no way to protect him that day.
“It was a stupid accident, it could happen in the street, to be honest. I think also he was tired – it’s a very demanding job.
“Sometimes your body gives you an alarm, like ‘give me a break.’ That’s what happened, I think.”
Olivier was pleased to return to the James Bond set after working with Craig on 2015’s Spectre.
He gushed: “[No Time To Die] was my second collaboration with Daniel.
“He asked me to come back, with [Bond boss] Barbara [Broccoli]. I was very honoured about that.”
James Bond No Time To Die is in cinemas now.