Sure, Daniel Craig spent a decade and a half sipping martinis as James Bond, but the actor puts a different spin on drinking vodka in a new commercial for Belvedere. (He may have put down the gun and the gadget watch after last year’s No Time To Die, but the brand has been partnered with the 007 franchise since 2014.) Directed by Taika Waititi, the clip might be the most fun that Craig can have without doing an intense Southern accent as he dances his way through a Parisian hotel. In an interview with GQ, Waititi opens up about the production of the ad.
“I think it’s great when they can be a little irreverent, and bust out of the mold of what everyone expects,” the director tells the magazine. “It’s just nice to do something where it’s like, ‘Oh, is this the real Daniel? Maybe this is a different version of Daniel than we’ve ever seen?’...He just was great and he wasn’t cynical about it, and he wasn’t reticent. He just leaned straight in.”
Beyond the casting, there’s a sense of self-awareness to the clip, including the moment where the camera pulls back to reveal the making of the ad itself.
“It was never really established that I would do that little cameo until we were shooting and then Daniel said, ‘It’s got to be you, man,’” Waititi says. “He actually convinced me to do it. They had some spare suits, and I threw one on.”
Later on, the Thor: Ragnarok director makes an extended appearance, surrounded by a variety of attendants as he works.
“It’s just nice to make fun of what people think directors do, especially in things like this, being hand fed sushi. It’s so unglamorous what we [actually] do,” Waititi says. “Like, I’ve spent the last 10 years eating more lukewarm food out of cardboard boxes in Burbank, so any chance I can get to try and continue this myth that it’s a glamorous job, I’ll try and do that through things like this.”