007 James Bond actor: Daniel Craig

Who: Daniel
Wroughton Craig

• Is the first actor with blond hair to play MI6’s agent
  007, James Bond. 
• Craig has stated that his own
  favourite previous Bond actor is Sean Connery, but says, “I’d never copy somebody else. I would
  never do an impression of anybody else or try and improve on what they did.
  That would be a pointless exercise for me.” His own favourite Bond
  film is From Russia with Love (1963).

007: Quantum of Solace / James Bond video game (2008)
GoldenEye 007 / James Bond video game (2010)
James Bond 007: Blood Stone / James Bond video game (2010)
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded / James Bond video game (2011)

James
Bond (2006–present)

In 2005, Craig was contracted
by Eon
Productions to
portray James Bond. He stated he “was aware of the challenges” of the
Bond franchise which he considered “a big machine that makes a lot of
money”. He aimed at bringing more “emotional depth” to the
character. Born in 1968, Craig is the first actor to portray James Bond to have been born after the Bond
series started, and after the death of Ian Fleming, the novels’ writer. Significant
controversy followed the decision, as it was doubted if the producers had made
the right choice. Throughout the entire production period Internet campaigns
expressed their dissatisfaction and threatened to boycott the film in protest.

The 5-foot-10-inch
(178 cm) blond Craig was not considered by some protesters to fit the
tall, dark Bond portrayed by the previous Bond actors, and to which viewers had
apparently become accustomed. The Daily Mirror ran a front page news story critical
of Craig, with the headline, “The Name’s Bland – James Bland”.
Although the choice of Craig was controversial, numerous actors publicly voiced
their support, most notably, four of the five actors who had previously
portrayed Bond – Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Sean Connery and Roger Moore – called his casting a good
decision. George
Lazenby has since
voiced his approval of Craig also. Clive Owen, who had been linked to the role,
also spoke in defence of Craig.

The first film, Casino
Royale, premiered
14 November 2006, and grossed a total of US$594,239,066 worldwide, which made
it the highest-grossing Bond film until the release of Skyfall. After
the film was released, Craig’s performance was highly acclaimed. As production
of Casino Royale reached its conclusion, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that pre-production work
had already begun on the 22nd Bond film. After several months of speculation as
to the release date, Wilson and Broccoli officially announced on 20 July 2006,
that the follow-up film, Quantum of Solace, was to be released on 7 November
2008, and that Craig would play Bond with an option for a third film. On 25
October 2007, MGM CEO Harry Sloan revealed at the
Forbes Meet II Conference that Craig had signed on to make four more Bond films,
through to Bond 25.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended a membership invitation to
Craig in 2006. Craig sliced off the top of one of his fingers 12 June 2008,
while filming Quantum of Solace. The accident was one of a string of
incidents surrounding the shoot, including a fire at one of the sets in Pinewood Studios, a car crash that left the stunt
driver in a serious condition, and an Aston Martin skidding off the road and plunging
into Lake Garda while being transported to the set in
Italy.

Craig describes his portrayal
of Bond as an anti-hero: “The question I keep asking
myself while playing the role is, ‘Am I the good guy or just a bad guy who
works for the good side?’ Bond’s role, after all, is that of an assassin when
you come down to it. I have never played a role in which someone’s dark side
shouldn’t be explored. I don’t think it should be confusing by the end of the
film, but during the film you should be questioning who he is.” Craig has
stated that his own favourite previous Bond actor is Sean Connery, but says, “I’d never copy
somebody else. I would never do an impression of anybody else or try and
improve on what they did. That would be a pointless exercise for me.”
His own favourite Bond film is From
Russia with Love.
On a James Bond-centric episode of The
South Bank Show,
Connery divulged his thoughts on Craig’s casting as Bond, whom he described as “fantastic,
marvelous in the part”. When told that Craig had taken particular note
of his performances, Connery said that he was “flattered” and that
Craig really gets the “danger element” to Bond’s character.

The 19 April 2010-release of Craig’s expected third Bond film (the 23rd
overall in the series) was delayed, because of financial troubles with MGM, but
the film (Skyfall) was released
on 23 October 2012, and was part of the year-long celebration of the 50th
anniversary of Dr. No. On 8
September 2012, Bond producers announced Craig had signed on for two future
Bond films and not five as previously reported. This would bring his total to
five films, which would be two fewer than Roger Moore’s record of seven.

Craig’s new Bond film is SPECTRE (2015).

See
more information here

See more 007 JAMES BONDS here