Back in 2012, the Oscar-winning filmmaker was the artistic director for the opening ceremony for the London Olympics.
In an introductory skit, Boyle pitched the idea of Daniel Craig making a cameo as British icon James Bond with a small part for a Queen Elizabeth II lookalike.
It turned out, there was someone else who wanted the role.
“You guys are obsessed with this, I thought you were moving on,” laughs Boyle, when quizzed about the experience.
“The story was we had this idea that we would fake the Queen for the James Bond scenario so we sent a letter to the palace assuming - as a courtesy - to say ‘this is what we’re doing’.
Source: Supplied
“I remember writing the letter and saying ‘we’ll pick a double that’s very respectful, that doesn’t look silly’ and then we got a letter saying ‘we’re not bothered about the double, the Queen would like to be in it herself - she’d like to play herself’.
“I thought someone was winding us up, I thought that’s a wind up right there. Anyway, turns out it was true.”
Boyle met Her Majesty in her private quarters on the first day of filming and she warned him that she’d just been to the dentist.
“She was not in a good mood she said, she claimed.
"I think they’ve been with her a long time, and they all wanted a picture with Daniel Craig... "
“Maybe that was just an act to say ‘don’t be too rough with me’. I don’t know what she was expecting.”
The shoot took place just after her Jubilee celebrations and Boyle says he thinks one of the big reasons why she choose to do it was it was a bit more light-hearted than her recent commitments.
“We got on the set and she said ‘shouldn’t I say something?’ There was no line, it was a kind of silent – she said ‘I should say something, shouldn’t I?’
“So she improvised.
“She has a team of people around her who are very close, I think they’ve been with her a long time, and they all wanted a picture with Daniel Craig.
“They all wanted a selfie with Daniel Craig.”
Source: Supplied
