“SNL” got 007% more fun on the latest episode, when Daniel Craig made a couple of surprise appearances alongside his “No Time to Die” co-star Rami Malek, who of course was this week’s host.
A week after the premiere of “No Time To Die,” Craig and Malek were battling it out on screen again – not over the fate of the planet but for the role of Prince in a new Jordan Peele film.
The sketch kicked off with a casting session in which Kenan Thompson and Rami Malek (each sporting one of the singer’s iconic outfits and pencil mustache) compete for the role of Prince. Peele (Chris Redd) and his casting associates challenge the actors to a “Prince-Off”: they must react to multiple scenarios from the script while a riff from Prince’s 1986 hit “Kiss” plays in the background.
After Kenan wins the role (“I just don’t think I can cast a white guy to play Prince,” says Peele), Craig bursts into the room to audition for Prince – or rather, “the prince.” Donning a feathered cap and Elizabethan collar, Craig begs to try out for the part.
The sketch finishes with Peele telling him, “That was bad, but you’re James Bond so you got the part.”
Later in the show, Craig and Malek reunited for another sketch. This time, Craig and Cecily Strong play a couple at a night club being serenaded by enigmatic European singer (Aristotle Athari) and his dancer companion (Rami Malek), who perform whispery songs based on words suggested by Craig.
Craig has hosted ‘SNL’ twice himself, most recently in March 2020 ahead of “No Time To Die”‘s delayed premiere date. SNL’s last host before temporarily shutting down for COVID, Craig’s introduction of musical guest The Weekend spawned a viral Twitter meme. Malek seemed to tip his cap to those four famous seconds with his own shoulder-shrugging introduction of musical guest Young Thug.
