Entertainment

Daniel Craig: Dame Angela Lansbury was ‘so game’ during final screen appearance

The Knives Out sequel marks the final appearances of actress Dame Angela Lansbury and Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim.
The Knives Out sequel marks the final appearances of actress Dame Angela Lansbury and Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim.

Daniel Craig said Dame Angela Lansbury’s Bedknobs And Broomsticks is still one of his “favourite” films, describing her as “so game” during her appearance in his latest film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

James Bond star Craig, 54, reprises his role as suave detective Benoit Blanc which sees him travel to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colourful suspects.

The sequel features the final on-screen appearance from Murder, She Wrote actress Dame Angela, who died “peacefully” in her sleep aged 96 on October 11.

Angela Lansbury death
Dame Angela Lansbury with the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress (Ian West/PA)

Craig said on The Graham Norton Show: “It was her very last screen performance. She was so game. I was a fan, Bedknobs And Broomsticks is still one of my favourite movies.”

The Irish-British and American actress was best known for her role as Jessica Fletcher but her prolific output included more than 50 films and a string of successes on Broadway and on television.

The Knives Out sequel also includes a posthumous appearance from Stephen Sondheim, who created musicals including Sweeney Todd and died in November last year.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix/PA)

Talking about his characters accent in the new film, Craig said: “There was a very small stage direction in the script that said Benoir Blanc has a subtle, lilting southern accent, which I clearly flatly ignored.”

The all-star cast also includes Kate Hudson, Edward Norton, Dave Bautista, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, and Leslie Odom Jr and is directed by Rian Johnson.

When asked if he would appear in more Knives Out films, Craig added: “Rian and I talk about it all the time and we will make them as long as people laugh and enjoy them, and we will walk away when they don’t.”

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday at 10.40pm.