Former Stig Ben Collins revealed that James Bond star Daniel Craig had made him look like ”a complete chump” on the James Bond set as the Top Gear star discussed his ”awkward” cameo.
Ben Collins talks about the incident
The 48-year-old racing car driver was working as a stunt man on Quantum Of Solace when he was forced to step out of his comfort zone, much to the actor’s amusement. Ben described the moment he was asked to walk around the car, in cool Bond-style, but failed miserably, with Daniel telling him to ‘sit back down.’
Speaking to hosts Dave Vitty and Jason Plato on their Fuelling Around podcast, he explained:
”In Siena we had to swoop into Bond’s lair but there was half-an-inch into this tunnel for the wing mirrors.”
”I had to drive round in one clean movement and get it in there. I jumped in to do that bit and he (Daniel) was watching that, probably thinking, ‘I hope he crashes it.”’
Ben joked:
”If I was, I’d have been thinking the same thing.”
”This was when Mr White had been basically trapped in the boot of the car the whole time through a massive carnage car chase around Garda and [Bond] kicks him out.”
”They wanted me to line up and do a bit of a walk around the car, which I did like a complete chump because I’m not a good actor and I’m not as cool as Bond.”
”And Daniel said, ‘Just sit back down, I’ll do this.’ He did it perfectly, adjusted the suit, the walk, the pace, it was measured – everything was just really, really cool.”
”I thought: ‘That’s why you do that job and I just drive the car occasionally. This is right.'”
He added:
”Daniel’s funny, he’s got a cracking sense of humour. He’s an amazing actor, that’s obvious. He’s always looking at the funny angle, he’s a good guy. He’s definitely a good dude. I’d have loved to hung out more with him than I did.”
Collins has been in Daniel’s shoes three times, having also been the stunt driver during the filming of Casino Royale and Skyfall. Ben unveiled himself as the man who appeared as The Stig on Top Gear for seven years in 2010.
Meanwhile, since Craig’s departure, there has been much speculation of who will next take on the mantle of Britain’s most famous spy. Daniel Craig retired as 007 last year. It has been noted that the fans have been busy dream casting the role with actors of all types. It has been further noted that the favorites to bag the role include LGBTQ actors like Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, singer Sam Smith, and Thor’s Tessa Thompson. However, popular actor Idris Elba is not willing to grab the role of James Bond.
