See Daniel Craig Dance Incredibly Strangely In A Vodka Ad
Daniel Craig dances in this Taika Waititi-directed commercial for Belvedere Vodka.
Daniel Craig shot to an almost incomprehensible level of stardom when he was cast as James Bond for the 2006 reboot Casino Royale, but he has always seemed to buck against the strict confines of the character (and likely, audience expectations). Now that Daniel Craig has put James Bond behind him with No Time to Die, it appears he is ready to mix things up. Specifically, he is going to do that with a highly choreographed commercial for Belvedere Vodka, directed by none other than Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi.
The two-minute and change video for the Polish vodka brand opens in a scene that could be right out of a James Bond movie, with Daniel Craig in a white suit, standing perfectly still in a black and white shot. After giving a wry smile to the camera, the Glass Onion star strides through a crowd of reporters and gets into the rear door of a car and out the other side, transitioning to color, dusk, and an infectious beat (courtesy of popstar and Taika Waititi spouse Rita Ora and British rapper Giggs). Now Daniel Craig is dressed in a less-007 outfit of a black leather jacket, tight black A-shirt, silver chain necklace, and sunglasses.
As he leaves the paparazzi in his wake, Daniel Craig strides forward cockily, whips off his sunglasses (it’s nighttime, after all), and begins to dance. At first, the future brother of Thor does a simple step here and there, but by the time he enters a Parisian hotel, he is full-on wiping his brow with a scarlet silk handkerchief and throwing it into the air and posing for the enjoyment of both the camera and a pair of elderly people in an elevator behind him.
It must be said that Daniel Craig is a surprisingly fluid and nimble dancer, though considering his extensive training in fighting and choreography, perhaps it should not be. Even more interesting is the look on Daniel Craig’s face throughout the Belvedere commercial, which could be described as “cheeky” or possibly even “naughty.” It could be argued that this commercial is a kind of symbolic abandonment of the James Bond role (in the black and white scene) and taking on a new, jauntier public persona, but at the very least, it is also just a fun way to shill some mid-shelf vodka and pay homage to Fatboy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” starring Christopher Walken.
At the very end of the commercial, Daniel Craig takes a drink of Belvedere, commenting “finally” and showing of a “DC” grill in his smile. At that point, Taika Waititi also shows up as himself (being fanned by an attendant, being fed sushi by another, and has a plate of strawberries in front of him, likely as a humorous parody of his star status), instructing Daniel Craig to “just be yourself,” further cementing the idea that this is an unofficial abandonment of his 007 persona (though again, this is putting a lot of symbolism on a booze ad).
