Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc is one of "most iconic" performances of our time, argue Wake Up Dead Man cast

Given his incredibly popular turn as James Bond across five films and 15 years, few cinemagoers would ever have guessed there might one day be a debate as to who Daniel Craig's most iconic big screen character is.

But three films into Rian Johnson's Knives Out series, the former 007 star has added another truly beloved character to his repertoire: sharp Southern sleuth Benoit Blanc.

In Wake Up Dead Man, which arrives in select UK cinemas today ahead of a Netflix release next month, the detective has another tantalising case on his hands, this time against the backdrop of a small Catholic parish in upstate New York.

As ever, the suspect list comprises a who's who of Hollywood talent – with Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close and Jeremy Renner among the potential culprits this time around – and it seems that all of those who took part greatly enjoyed watching Craig disappear into his role for a third time.

"We had front row seats to one of the most iconic performances of our time, right?" said Kerry Washington, who stars as a church-going lawyer in the movie. "He's playing this character that has become his own universe. And so it was really fun to get to see it up close."

She added that Craig worked the hardest of the whole cast – with the possible exception of O'Connor – and that he always showed up for every scene more prepared than anybody else in the ensemble.

"And with more grace and kindness and goodwill than anybody else," she continued. "He's such a generous, kind, leader – and it made for an environment where we all wanted to do our best and be our best.

"We knew we were on a championship team and we didn't want to drop the ball, so it was fun to have somebody like Daniel as your creative leader, your team captain."

Meanwhile, Priscilla and Alien: Romulus star Cailee Spaeny, who plays a former concert cellist, laughed that it was "quite jarring" watching him go from embodying Blanc to "snap[ping] right back into being Daniel Craig".

"And there was a moment where we're all sitting in the church watching him do this incredible monologue, and it really felt like I was watching a play," she recalled.

Not everyone in the cast was working with Craig for the first time, and for Andrew Scott – who plays a best-selling author on a downward spiral – the film served as a reunion of sorts after they had previously worked together on 2015 Bond flick Spectre.

"He's just a spectacular human being," he said of his co-star. "He's really good, because in an ensemble film, it's great to have an ensemble, but of course, he's at the centre of it. And you know, he establishes alongside Rian [Johnson], this really beautiful atmosphere to work in, because there's a lot of intimidating people on the first day!"

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Daryl McCormack – who plays an aspiring politician-turned-online conspiracy nut – agreed with Scott's assessment.

"My biggest takeaway from Daniel is just like his humility as a person and as an actor," he said. "And I think they have not failed to set a tone that has been the most welcoming.

"I think, in turn, that really does just create an atmosphere for you as an actor, to come in and feel free and a part of the process in a real, genuine way. And then just to witness him portray this iconic character in person is really something."

Reviews have once again been firmly on the positive side – with our own 4-star verdict suggesting that it could even be the best of the bunch – and both Johnson and Craig have already expressed a willingness to give Blanc some further cases to solve in the future.

Only two more to go until he equals his output as 007...

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is released in cinemas on 26th November and coming to Netflix on 12th December. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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