Daniel Craig Recalls Breaking Dave Bautista’s Nose on ‘Spectre’ and Running Away Scared

“Spectre” is widely considered one of Daniel Craig’s lesser Bond efforts, but it does include one of the actor’s best and most brutal fight scenes when his Bond faces off against Dave Bautista’s assassin Mr. Hinx. During a recent appearance on “The Graham Norton Show” to promote his final Bond outing “No Time to Die,” Craig recalled both actors injuring one another during the filming of the smackdown. Craig actually broke Bautista’s nose and was so scared about what he’d done he left the set.

“I threw a punch and hit him on the nose,” Craig said. “I heard this crack and I was like ‘Oh God no’ and ran away. I thought he was going to come after me, but he was so sweet.”

Craig said that Bautista set his nose back in place and production continued, adding, “He’s a lot tougher than I am. I’ll give him that.”

Bautista would get indirect revenge on Craig during a later point at filming the fight scene. Craig said Bautista was being “gentle” with him during one part of the fight where Mr. Hinx picks up Bond and throws him against a wall. Craig challenged Bautista to be more intense in his throw, leading to a serious knee injury for the Bond actor.

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“I ended up on the wall, but my knee was over here somewhere,” Craig said. “I knew and it was horrible because if anyone’s had a serious injury, you just know in your head that something is really wrong.”

Craig would be injured again during the making of “No Time to Die,” which marks his final turn as Bond. Franchise producer Barbara Broccoli recently revealed to the BBC (via Variety) that the search for Bond’s replacement will not begin until 2022, as “we want Daniel to have his time of celebration.” Craig told Graham Norton that he is bound to be bitter when the decision is finally made.

“It’s been incredible to do these films,” Craig said. “It’s very emotional. I’m glad I am ending it on my own terms. I’m grateful to the producers for letting me do that. But I sure miss it. I’ll probably be incredibly bitter when the new person takes over.”

“No Time to Die” opens in U.S. theaters October 8.