Everything about Daniel Craig totally explained
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born
2 March 1968) is an
English actor. Brought up on the
Wirral, he joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of sixteen and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1991. His early film roles included
The Power of One,
A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes
Sharpe's Eagle and "
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert." He went on to star in his breakthrough performance
Layer Cake and also
opposite
Angelina Jolie.
Craig became the sixth actor to portray the fictional
secret agent James Bond in the long-running
Eon Productions film series. He made his debut as the character in the 2006 film,
Casino Royale to critical acclaim and was nominated for a
BAFTA award. Grossing US$593 million worldwide, it became the highest grossing James Bond film. He is currently filming the 22nd
James Bond movie,
Quantum of Solace, due to be released on
October 31 2008.
Biography
Early life
Daniel Craig was born in
Chester,
England, the son of Olivia (
née Williams), an art teacher, and Timothy John Wroughton Craig, who served as a
midshipman in the Merchant Navy and worked in various occupations when he came ashore. He is the cousin of novelist
Joe Craig. Daniel was brought up on the
Wirral,
Merseyside where his father was landlord of the pubs "Ring 'O Bells" and "The Boot". He attended
Hilbre High School and
Calday Grange Grammar School in
West Kirby. He played for Hoylake Rugby Club. Craig moved to
London when he was sixteen to join the
National Youth Theatre after a brief stay at Calday.
Breakthrough: 1990s
Daniel studied at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1991, and appeared in several minor roles including
Sharpe's Eagle and an episode of
Drop The Dead Donkey in 1993. His first leading role on screen was as a co-star in the 1996
BBC Television serial
Our Friends in the North. He continued his work with the BBC by starring in the 1997
Francis Bacon biopic, portraying Bacon's jilted lover
George Dyer. 1997 also saw the broadcast of a TV mystery drama, from the
Minette Walters novel
The Ice House, in which Craig played D.S. Andy McLoughlin.
Following an introduction to international audiences as
Angelina Jolie's rival and love interest in (2001), he continued his career in the United States in
Sam Mendes's movie
Road to Perdition (2002), with
Tom Hanks and
Paul Newman. Craig played Connor Rooney, the son of an Irish mob boss (played by Newman) and a conniving murderer who hides behind his mobster father's shadow. Other leading film roles include
Sword of Honour (2001),
The Mother (2003) with
Anne Reid,
Sylvia (2003) with
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Layer Cake (2004) with
Sienna Miller,
Enduring Love (2004) with
Rhys Ifans,
Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005), and
Infamous (2006).
James Bond (2005–present)
In February 2005, Craig had been named in the media as a possible candidate to portray James Bond. On
April 6,
2005, Craig was reported to have signed with
EON Productions as part of a three-film contract worth £15 million (US$29,696,972). However, the news was later debunked by the BBC who contacted EON for an official report.
On
23 October 2005, Craig signed a three-film contract. He stated that he "was aware of the challenges" of the James Bond franchise which he considers "a big machine" that "makes a lot of money". He aimed at bringing more "emotional depth" to the character.
Some controversy followed with a small but vocal group of fans threatening a boycott of the film, and a website was created for the protest, which ultimately failed. He reached high attention when screen shots of him were released in a tight swim suit and bulging chest which made him on People Hottest Men's list. The reason was Craig being blond unlike all preceding James Bond actors. Media coverage of the controversy resulted in numerous actors publicly voicing their support of Craig. Most notably, four of the five previous actors who portrayed Bond
Pierce Brosnan Timothy Dalton,
Sean Connery,
Roger Moore called his casting a good decision.
Clive Owen, who had been linked to the role, also spoke in defence of Craig. In an interview with
The Globe and Mail,
Pierce Brosnan was asked, "What do you think of the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, and will you be watching
Casino Royale?" He replied, "I'm looking forward to it like we're all looking forward to it. Daniel Craig is a great actor, and he's going to do a fantastic job".
The first film
Casino Royale was released on
14 November,
2006, and grossed a total of US$594 million, which makes the film the highest grossing Bond film.
After the film was released, Craig's performance was highly acclaimed. Critic Paul Arendt of BBC Films,
Kim Newman of
Empire and
Todd Carty of
Variety all described Craig as the first actor to truly embody the original James Bond from
Ian Fleming's novels: "ironic, brutal, and cold". He was nominated for a
BAFTA Award for Best Actor on January 2006, and won the Best Actor award at the
Evening Standard British Film Awards on
2 February 2007, both firsts for an actor in the role of James Bond.
A widely circulated report on several news channels and newspapers claimed that Craig had lost two teeth filming a fight scene; Craig later said it was just a
crown that had come loose. Producer
Barbara Broccoli also denied other rumours in an interview with
Variety.
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, will be released on
7 November 2008 and that Craig has been signed to play Bond, with an option for a third film. On
October 25,
2007, MGM CEO Harry Sloan revealed at the Forbes Meet II Conference that Craig had signed on for four more Bond films, through to
Bond 25.
In 2006,
Casino Royale became #5 best-selling Bond film of all time; however, with recent DVD and box office sales, it rose to the #2 best-selling Bond film of all time as of 2007. The same year, Craig was invited to join the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Other Projects
In 2007, Craig moved on to portraying the character of
Lord Asriel in the
The Golden Compass, the film adaptation of
Philip Pullman's novel
Northern Lights.
Eva Green, who played
Bond girl Vesper Lynd in
Casino Royale, also starred in the film, although didn't appear in any scenes with Craig. In a stage version of the book, Asriel had previously been played by
Timothy Dalton, one of Craig's predecessors in the role of James Bond.
In early 2007, Craig expressed an interest in being a part of the
Star Trek franchise, professing his love of the series to the World Entertainment News Network and a desire to have a "stint in the TV show or a film. It's been a secret ambition of mine for years." On
16 March 2007, Craig made a cameo appearance as himself in a sketch with
Catherine Tate who appeared in the guise of her character
Elaine Figgis from
The Catherine Tate Show. The sketch was made for the
BBC Red Nose Day 2007 fundraising program.
Personal life
In 1992, Craig married Scottish actress Fiona Loudon, with whom he's a daughter, Ella. However, the marriage ended in a divorce in 1994. After his divorce he was in a seven-year relationship with German actress
Heike Makatsch. In the last few years, Craig has been in a long term relationship with
Japanese American film producer
Satsuki Mitchell.
Filmography
Further Information
Get more info on 'Daniel Craig'.
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