The Joy of Daniel Craig

He's the star of the James Bond movies and one of the most famous movie stars in the world--but he can teach us all a few things about joy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Gratitude Diaries, a production of My Heart Radio. Hi.
I'm Janice Kaplan. Thanks for joining me for more practical
ideas on how to be happier. Today's tip, if you
want to add some joy to your day, take a
lesson from James Bond. Over the years, I've interviewed a

(00:25):
lot of famous actors and big stars. I've often been
struck by how many of them are truly grateful and
appreciative of what they have. Now. You may say they
better be their stars they have everything, But just think
of how many people who are less fortunate are looking
at you and thinking that you have everything and wondering
why you're not grateful. It's easy to say that others

(00:48):
should appreciate where they are, and much harder to recognize
the same in ourselves. No matter what you have or
don't have, it becomes the norm. Psychologists referred to it
as habitual, aation. You're no longer surprised by what you have,
and then you start thinking of all the things that
might be different or better. Sometimes it helps to give

(01:09):
yourself a physical reminder that you do want to be
happy right now with what you have right now, and
you're not going to let outside events change how you feel.
I learned a great lesson about that many years ago
when I interviewed the actor Daniel Craig, right after he
had finished shooting his first James Bond movie. Most of

(01:30):
us now think of Daniel Craig as the best Bond ever,
so it's hard to remember that the Internet had been
horrible to Craig when he first got the role. He
didn't look right. He was too blond to serious. Some
critics complained that he looked more like the bad guy
than the hero. When I met him, he was physically
exhausted from the grueling schedule of long days on the

(01:51):
set and long nights at the gym, building of the
strength and needed to be double O seven now that
the movie was done. He was not in awaying the moment.
I happened to have been the first American reporter to
talk to him. At that point, he knew his life
was about to change, but he didn't know exactly how.
He was worried about making a great movie for the

(02:12):
fans and maintaining the integrity of his own career, being
typecast as James Bond forever after maybe a high class
problem that any actor would relish, but Craig was unsure
about how it was going to affect him. Ever after,
Craig and I had breakfast together at his suite at
the elegant Dorchester Hotel in London. As we talked, I

(02:34):
happened to notice a bracelet on his wrist. I leaned
over to see it, and the inscription said, the more
joy we have, the more nearly perfect we are. Let
me say that one more time. The more joy we have,
the more nearly perfect we are. Daniel Craig told me
it was a quote from the philosopher Spinoza, and he said,

(02:58):
I love the idea that joy is what makes you perfect.
It's a good philosophy to get through life, isn't it.
Feeling joy and gratitude in the midst of a pressured
situation can help you calm down and gain some perspective. Later,
when Craig's movie Casino Royale made more money and got
better reviews than any Bond movie in history, I hoped

(03:20):
Daniel Craig felt better, But I also knew that what
really mattered for him was the reminder of that bracelet.
Joy comes from the inside, not out, even for an
actor on the verge of being a worldwide icon. Happiness
isn't a given. You have to be willing to be
grateful for where you are and hopeful for what comes next.

(03:41):
After one of the James Bond movies a few years ago,
Craig told a reporter that he wasn't doing anymore. He
was done, exhausted, and he said he'd rather slash his
wrists than continue being Bond. But by the next year
he had fully changed his tune. He said, as far
as I'm concerned, I've got the best job in the world.
I'll keep doing it. Daniel Craig does make ridiculous sums

(04:06):
of money for being James Bond now, but I can't
understand those ups and downs of how he felt. We
all go through those moments of wanting to be somewhere else,
or maybe be someone else. Maybe we're exhausted after our work,
we think we never want to continue it, and we
forget to be grateful for what we've just done and
what might be. And that's true even when you're one

(04:27):
of the most famous movie stars in the world. But
Daniel Craig gave himself one gift that was worth more
than money, The reminder of the joy is what matters,
and joy is what makes us perfect. Joy gets you
through long movie shoots, exhausting days in the gym, or
any kind of job that the rest of us have.

(04:47):
So today, remember that line from Spinoza that inspired Daniel
Craig and look for joy wherever you can be grateful
for what you've done and where you can go next.
Whether the world has you shaken or stirred, you can
feel good about it when you have the right mindset.
Thanks for joining me. I'll be back with more ideas
on how to add gratitude to your life and make

(05:09):
every day a little brighter. Have a great day. The
Gratitude Diaries is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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