Daniel Craig unleashes his inner disco diva in Taika Waititi-directed vodka commercial | CNN

London
CNN
 — 

Since ending his 15-year run as James Bond with “No Time to Die” last year, Daniel Craig has not been sitting idle.

The British star has been busy brushing up his fancy footwork, which he enthusiastically showcases in a new vodka commercial directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi.

In the tongue-in-cheek ad for Belvedere Vodka, which premiered last week and runs for more than two minutes, Craig goes from brooding and enigmatic to swaggerlicious and even … fun.

The ad opens with a white-suited Craig standing on a bridge, back to the camera, gazing moodily out at the water. The scene could be straight out of a 007 movie. But then it goes a little unexpected.

With a quick costume change, the 54-year-old sheds the secret agent and unleashes his inner disco diva, shimmying, thrusting and gyrating on the street and then around a hotel to a soundtrack by Rita Ora and Giggs.

The ad ends with Craig taking a drink of Belvedere and commenting “finally.” Dancing is thirsty work. after all.

In a postscript, Waititi makes an appearance as a caricature of himself as director – being fanned by an attendant as another feeds him sushi. “Let’s go again, just be yourself,” he tells Craig, who flashes a smile to reveal sparkling diamanté “DC” grills.

Judging by the mixed responses online, fans are both shaken and stirred.

One Twitter user branded it “the wildest thing I’ve ever seen,” adding she couldn’t believe it was Craig.

Another said: “The moral of that Belvedere vodka advert seems clear: ‘get drunk on this booze & you’ll embarrass yourself in public and Dad-dance in a way not even Daniel Craig can make look cool.’”

A third commentator wrote on YouTube: “Absolutely wonderful!!! Enjoyed seeing Daniel outside the suave, sophisticated ‘Bond’ persona. I so loved this.”

Craig can next be seen reprising his role as wacky detective Benoit Blanc in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” the sequel to Rian Johnson’s 2019 comedy-drama “Knives Out.”