Daniel Craig’s ‘most gratifying moment’ was watching ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ with Toronto audience at TIFF

When “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, no one was more pleased than Bond himself. Watching the film with the Toronto audience was the “most gratifying moment” for Daniel Craig, who reprises his role as detective Benoit Blanc in the “Knives Out” sequel.

The entire star-studded cast was at the TIFF premiere to introduce the crowd-pleasing film to the audience, where it earned a standing ovation. The murder mystery drama, which streams on Netflix Friday, was the second runner-up for the TIFF People’s Choice Award, often a good indicator of potential Oscar nods.

“When we got it in front of this audience and people started laughing … it’s just success. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the best feeling,” Craig said in an interview. It was the first time the film was seen by moviegoers.

Directed by Rian Johnson, the whodunnit is nothing short of a riot, with an ensemble that allows all its actors to shine. The film follows world-famous detective Blanc, who heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) and his eclectic crew of friends.

It also stars Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Dave Bautista, Madelyn Cline and Jessica Henwick.

Johnson himself loves TIFF and was happy to be back; his connection to the festival goes way back — besides both “Knives Out” movies, his films “The Brothers Bloom” and “Looper” also had their world premieres at the festival in 2008 and 2012.

“It’s an amazing festival, there’s amazing energy in the theatres and people show up wanting to have a good time,” Johnson said. “I think with a movie like this, it’s all about people experiencing it in a big group and laughing together. It’s just gold and I love the Toronto International Film Festival. You truly feel that it’s not like a destination film festival that just movie people are going to. It’s a festival that lives and breathes in the city. You can feel that in the crowds as people who just want to go see a good movie.”

Johnson, who not only helmed the film but wrote the screenplay as well, possesses the ability to pen eccentric, flawed and ridiculously entertaining characters that flourish onscreen.

“I think it’s especially important when you’re building a rogues’ gallery of terrible people as your suspects, that with each one of them you find something in them you can relate to,” he said. “I think that gives you some kind of generosity of spirit toward them so you understand them.

“I think that if it’s just being judgy about terrible people, that will get very boring very quickly.”

In Craig, Johnson found a collaborator who brings his material to life in unexpected ways. The actor goes for bolder strokes this time around, including one particularly pivotal moment that earned a huge round of applause and cheers from the audience. “He’s channelling Jacques Tati,” quipped Johnson, referring to the French comic actor.

“I think bringing what’s written to life is a huge amount of interpretation on his part and we on set talk through it and it’s a really good collaborative spirit. I mean honestly, that’s the reason we’re sitting here right now is because Daniel and I click. We just love working with each other and so that’s why we’ll do a third one if they keep letting us do it.”

Craig, who recently earned a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination for the film, echoed the sentiments, noting that it was Johnson’s fine script that allowed him to dig his claws deeper into Blanc to find what makes him tick — without drawing attention away from the other characters.

“He wrote another funny script, which allowed me to sort of explore a bit more about Benoit and maybe show a bit more about him. I kind of liked the fact that he’s an enigma; he’s a little bit of a mystery and that’s good that he remains that way. Because it’s all about everybody else in the cast, the suspects. That’s who we’re interested in.”

Craig, 54, seems pleased to just be working again on a film that genuinely interests him. His 15-year tenure as James Bond came to a close in 2021 with “No Time to Die,” his fifth and final portrayal of the fictional British MI6 agent.

“I get to work with this amount of talent, that’s it. If I’m acting opposite these brilliant, wonderful actors, my job is cut in half. I just have to let them do their thing,” he said.

“Really, to have the opportunities I’m getting right now in my career and to be able to sort of enjoy it. I’ve been having the most amazing time over the past 18 years of my life doing Bond and the experiences I’ve had doing that are just incredible. To get a chance to do another movie if we get to make another one … I mean just how lucky am I?”

Rarely do packed ensembles allow all actors a chance to deliver, but this one, like its predecessor, does. Monáe is one such actor who gives a layered performance, bringing a mysterious enigma and energy to this ensemble. She has already earned award nominations with a Critics Choice Award nod for Best Supporting Actress. For her, working with someone like Johnson on a film like this was fulfilling; she called him “the ultimate collaborator.”

“When he sent me the script, I knew that it would go to some new places, and having an opportunity as an actor to just show range and to play is just a dream for me. To give you the comedy, the drama, to give you the mystery, to give you all the layers that you have to peel back in this character was so fun,” she said.

For Norton, signing up for this project was an easy decision. He’s known Johnson for almost 20 years and shared that they have a “real affinity for certain types of films together. I love him as a person. He’s an easygoing, thoughtful, passionate person. It was enough to just say, ‘I’ve always wanted to do something with Rian. Let’s do it.’”

The film works as a sharp critique, a satire aimed at the tech moguls disrupting the culture in society today. Norton, who hilariously inhabits the eccentricities of a tech billionaire to a tee, found this quite appealing.

“The particularly savoury opportunity was that he’s sticking a fork satirically in some things that I think are very ripe right now. I like the way that it’s good humour, and with a lot of narrative hijinks and mostly entertainment, but he’s still dealing with these dynamics of appropriation and of tech arrogance,” Norton said.

After the success of the first “Knives Out,” which was nominated for a Best Original Oscar in 2020, it seems that Johnson has figured out the key to making an entertaining whodunnit. The filmmaker, 49, believes the formula is simple, focusing more on the ride than the riddle.

“What I try to do is to never forget that it’s a movie. I want it to be a roller-coaster ride, not a crossword puzzle,” he said.

“I want people leaning forward, not leaning back and trying to figure it out. So that means the same thing that makes any movie tick. That means having a protagonist that you care about and how are they going to get out of this, as opposed to just thinking about solving a whodunnit.”

It seems like his formula is working. The film has already secured several nominations, including Best Picture at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.

Marriska Fernandes is a Toronto-based entertainment reporter and film critic. She is a freelance contributor for the Star’s Culture section. Follow her on Twitter: @marrs_fers

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