Daniel Craig may have portrayed cunning international spy James Bond, but when it comes to Internet memes and social media, the actor is blissfully oblivious.
In an interview published on Thursday in The New York Times, Dave Itzkoff spoke with the actor in a story that began more than a year-and-a-half ago to coincide with Craig’s final stint as Bond in the franchise’s No Time to Die. The movie’s release was repeatedly postponed due to the pandemic and it’s now slated to hit theaters on October 8th.
Itzkoff caught up with the actor in a follow-up call for the Times article, where Craig discussed his tenure as 007, his role as Benoit Blanc in Knives Out and his upcoming turn on Broadway portraying Macbeth.
During their chat, Itzkoff brought up that they were speaking on a Friday afternoon and that social media would soon populate with video from Craig introducing the Weeknd on Saturday Night Live. In the clip, Craig introduces musical guest the Weeknd, but he delivers the lines “Ladies and gentlemen… the Weeknd” in a shrugged way that resonated as a double entendre, which rose to meme-worthy status.
“Has the popularity of this gotten back to you in any way?,” Itzkoff asks. Craig responds: “No, what is that?” Itzkoff explains that Craig’s clip is used to signal ushering in the actual weekend.
“They do?,” Craig responded. “It’s amazing. I don’t know what that is, but thank you. That’s lovely. I suppose I’d have to have social media to know what that was all about.”
— ladies and gentlemen, the weekend 😌 (@CraigWeekend) September 24, 2021