Daniel Craig has admitted he's enjoying acting more since quitting the role of James Bond - though he's 'working harder than ever'.

The actor, 57, played the iconic role of 007 for 15 years across five films, before bowing out in 2021.

Bosses on the spy franchise killed him off in No Time To Die, a decision which Daniel had supported, to bring a definitive end to his tenure.

Speaking four years on, Daniel has admitted he's enjoying working as an actor more now and is taking on roles he previously may have been unsure of.

The hunk said: 'I'm not saying no to things that I might have been a little bit wary about before.'

In an interview with Radio Times, he continued: 'When the Bond thing was going on in my life, the juxtaposition between that and another role would sometimes feel self-conscious.

'I'm working harder than I ever have, but I'm also just enjoying it more than I ever have. I get to do really interesting, different stuff.'

Last year Daniel said how working on the franchise had left him 'empty' and 'exhausted'.

He explained: 'Early on with Bond I thought I had to do other work, but I didn't. I was becoming a star, whatever that means, and people wanted me in their films. Incredible.

'Most actors are out of work for large chunks so you take your job offers - but they left me empty. Then, bottom line, I got paid.

'I was so exhausted at the end of a Bond it would take me six months to recover emotionally. I always had the attitude that life must come first and, when work came first for a while, it strung me out.'

Since leaving 007 behind, Daniel has taken on more diverse roles.

In 2019 he played the lead role of Benoit Blanc, a witty detective in Knives Out, starring alongside Ana De Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Plummer.

He has continued to star in the series' subsequent movies Glass Onion and Wake Up Dead Man.

In 2024 Daniel starred in Luca Guadagnino's 2024 romance Queer, where he played a man embroiled in a drug-fuelled gay affair. 

He starred alongside Drew Starkey, 31, in film, based on William Burroughs' semi-autobiographical novella of the same name.

The period romantic drama, set in 1950s Mexico City, follows American expat and war veteran William Lee (played by Craig), who has a romance with a younger man, Eugene Allerton (Starkey), a drug addict and discharged Navy serviceman.

Meanwhile, it is believed that Saltburn star Jacob Elordi, Spider-Man's Tom Holland and Babygirl actor Harris Dickinson are at the top of bosses' wish list as the next 007.

Inside sources reportedly told the Variety that the studio and producers are interested in casting a British actor under the age of 30. 

The studio announced in June of this year that Denis Villeneuve - best known for directing Warner Bros.' two-part Dune adaptation - has signed on to direct the untitled film.