Daniel Craig Reflects On 15 Years As James Bond: 'I'm Proud Of What We've Done'

KEY POINTS

Daniel Craig said he feels "so lucky" to have played James Bond, though he admitted that it was sometimes "a slog"
He shared that playing Agent 007 in the last 15 years has given him "a confidence that I didn't have when I started"
His final Bond film, "No Time to Die," is set to hit theaters on Oct. 8

Daniel Craig is "proud" of his tenure as James Bond.

Ahead of the premiere of "No Time to Die," his fifth and final Bond film, Craig, 53, reflected on his 15-year journey playing the legendary British spy during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"I am very proud of what we have done. I am so lucky to have had this opportunity [for] the last 16 years. What happens in the future, it just feels like it is going to take 15 years to unpack all of this, to figure out what just happened," he told ET. "Sometimes it was a slog, it has gone like that [snaps his fingers]."

Craig also said he remembers being announced as the next Agent 007 "like it was yesterday," adding that he still finds it "so impossible" to "put a kind of explanation" on the whole experience.

"I have changed immeasurably since I began this in my professional life, and in my personal life," Craig shared. "... I try to self-examine a little bit. It's given me a confidence that I didn't have when I started off, this confidence to sort of try and make the best of what you have and make the best movies you can. That is all I have ever tried to do [with] these films."

He added, "We have a beautiful, beautiful bunch of people, actors and some of the best crew in the world. That is all I ever, ever wanted out of this."

Craig first stepped into the role of James Bond back in 2006 with the debut of "Casino Royale." This was followed by "Quantum of Solace" (2008), "Skyfall" (2012) and "Spectre" (2015).

With Craig saying goodbye to the franchise in "No Time to Die," rumors have swirled about who will take up the mantle. Some have speculated that "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" star Tom Hardy is among the actors in the running to be the next Bond.

Hardy recently brushed off the speculations, telling Entertainment Tonight, "I don't know about that." However, his "Venom" co-star Naomie Harris, who has played Moneypenny to Craig's Bond since "Skyfall," said she thinks he would be "amazing" as Bond.

"He's such a phenomenal actor," she said of Hardy. "I'm such a huge fan of his and then working with him on Venom, I have even more respect for him. He's just like, incredible, the physicality that he brings to the role is just extraordinary. I've never seen anything like it."

"No Time to Die" is set to hit theaters on Oct. 8.