‘SNL’: Rami Malek’s James Bond Co-Star Daniel Craig Crashes Multiple Sketches

This weekend, actor Rami Malek hosted Saturday Night Live, but one of his co-stars from No Time to Die practically overshadowed him. Malek plays the villain in the new James Bond movie, and he spared no effort in promoting it on SNL. That included bringing other A-listers to the variety show with him.

The first cameo of the night came from the current 007 actor himself, Daniel Craig. He appeared in a sketch called “Prince Auditions,” where Malek and Kenan Thompson were the finalists auditioning for a biopic of pop star Prince directed by Jordan Peele (Chris Redd). Misinterpreting the casting call, Craig appeared in costume as a medieval prince, but he still matched Malek and Thompson’s impersonations of the singer.

The second cameo came in a sketch called “Angelo,” and this one began with Craig on a date with Cecily Strong. The audience wasn’t as surprised to see him this time, but he played the straight man for new SNL cast member Aristotle Athari, who played an eccentric lounge singer named Angelo. Craig’s character was even more perplexed when Malek joined Angelo on stage as an accompanying interpretive dancer.

Craig has hosted SNL himself in the past, and he is a pretty huge star for an unannounced surprise appearance like this one. There’s no doubt that his appearance will go a long way in helping to promote No Time to Die, which the movie may need to succeed. It was filmed throughout the spring and summer of 2019 but has been delayed repeatedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving fans confused about when they will be able to see it.

No Time to Die was first scheduled to premiere in November of 2019 but was delayed to February of 2020 due to a casting issue. At that point, the pandemic began to interfere, and the date was moved several times in quick succession as the studios adjusted not only to public health restrictions but the economic impact on theaters. In November of 2020, the movie could technically have been released but would likely have performed badly at the box office since the vaccines were not available yet, so it was withheld at the last second.

This time around, theaters are making a comeback, and vaccine distribution is on the rise, so things are looking good for No Time to Die. The movie premiered on Oct. 8 and is playing now in theaters across the U.S. SNL will be back next weekend with host Jason Sudeikis and musical guest Brandi Carlile.