After the release of Spectre in 2015, Daniel Craig said that he was on the verge of quitting his role as James Bond. No Time To Die, Craig’s fifth and last excursion as the MI6 spy, has already aired in the UK but is yet to be released in the United States. Cary Joji Fukunaga’s film has received mostly excellent reviews from reviewers so far, and it promises to be an action-packed, emotionally gripping farewell to Craig’s Bond.

It’s been a long road for the actor, who has stated that he doesn’t know how to handle the franchise’s popularity. Now that he’s through with the role, the actor is reminiscing about his time as Bond and has spoken up about it.

The no-nonsense British actor wasn’t shy about his fatigue with the character while promoting his last 007 film, 2015’s “Spectre,” telling Time Out London that he’d rather cut his wrists than continue with the series.

Craig now adds, “I’ve always tried to be honest about my feelings. When I started doing Bond (in 2006’s ‘Casino Royale’), I threw myself into it and was as physical as I possibly could be. I felt like that was really important – that’s who I wanted my Bond to be. I wanted people to believe it was me doing those stunts. However, after ‘Spectre,’ I genuinely felt like I couldn’t do that anymore. I felt like, ‘What was the point?’ Also, it’s at least a year out of my life away from home. And that is really tough on everybody.”

He added, “That call [to my wife], when I go, ‘Hi, I got injured, I’m going to the hospital,’ is not a great phone call to make. I didn’t feel like I could do it anymore.”

Craig’s wrist-slashing remark generated quite a fuss during the Spectre press tour, but it seems to stem from a genuine desire for his portrayal of the character to be the greatest – and most physically demanding – it can be. His on-set injuries were more than simply scratches and bruises, after all. Craig injured his knee early in the shooting of Spectre, forcing him to complete the movie wearing a knee brace that had to be removed in post-production.

Craig consented to one final hurrah for James Bond, who was betrayed by former sweetheart Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in “Casino Royale,” after discussions with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson about how to wrap up loose ends for the character.

His heartache “was an incredibly strong emotion that pushed through the next three movies, so I felt it would be good to bring that full circle (in ‘No Time to Die’),” Craig says.

Director Cary Fukunaga states, “The love story in ‘Casino’ is the real mirror to this film.” When Bond and Swann finally meet at the conclusion of “Spectre,” the issue arises, “How does somebody who’s been closed off that long open up (to love) again?”

Daniel Craig’s dedication to the physicality of the job has paid off, despite the fact that he has suffered from multiple tears and wears. No Time to Die, his film, is proof of it.