Daniel Craig

Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor best known for playing British secret agent James Bond, since 2006.

Craig is an alumnus of the National Youth Theatre and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began his career on stage. His early on screen appearances were in the films Elizabeth, The Power of One and A Kid in King Arthur's Court, and on Sharpe's Eagle and Zorro in television. His appearances in the British films Love Is the Devil, The Trench and Some Voices attracted the industry's attention, leading to roles in bigger productions such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition, Layer Cake and Munich.

Craig achieved international fame when chosen as the sixth actor to play the role of James Bond, replacing Pierce Brosnan. Though he was initially greeted with scepticism, his debut in Casino Royale was highly acclaimed and earned him a BAFTA award nomination, with the film becoming the highest grossing in the series at the time. Quantum of Solace followed two years later. His third Bond film, Skyfall, premiered in 2012 and is now the highest grossing film in the series.

Craig is married to actress Rachel Weisz, his second wife. He has a daughter Ella by his first wife, Fiona Loudon. In 2006 he joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Since taking the role of Bond, Craig has continued to appear in other films, most recently starring in the English language adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Craig made a guest appearance as Bond in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, alongside Queen Elizabeth II.

Early life

Craig was born in West Cheshire Hospital, which in 1984 was officially opened as the Countess of Chester Hospital, in Chester, Cheshire, England. His mother, Carol Olivia (née Williams), was an art teacher, and his father, Timothy John Wroughton Craig, was the landlord of the pubs "Ring o' Bells" (in Frodsham) and the "Boot Inn" (Willington, Tarporley), and also served as a midshipman in the Merchant Navy. Both of Craig's parents were of half Welsh descent.

Craig was brought up on the Wirral Peninsula, near Liverpool, and attended primary school in Frodsham, and later Holy Trinity Primary School in Hoylake. Craig attended along with his older sister, Lea, firstly Hilbre High School in nearby West Kirby, and later Calday Grange Grammar School. Craig played for Hoylake RFC Rugby Union Club. Daniel began acting in school plays at the age of six. He was introduced to serious acting by attending the Everyman theatre in nearby Liverpool city centre with his mother. Craig moved to London when he was sixteen to join the National Youth Theatre. He attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the Barbican and graduated in 1991 after three years of study under Colin McCormack.

Career

Overview

Craig appeared as Joe in the Royal National Theatre's production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America in November 1993. Also in 1993, Craig appeared in an episode of Yorkshire Television's Heartbeat, which aired on 31 October 1993. An early starring role was as 'Geordie' in the BBC's 1996 drama Our Friends in the North, with early film roles being as Angelina Jolie's rival and love interest in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), before appearing in Sam Mendes's movie Road to Perdition (2002), with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. 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) with Eric Bana, Infamous and Casino Royale (2006), The Golden Compass (2007), Quantum of Solace, Defiance (2008), and Cowboys & Aliens (2011).

James Bond: 2005–present

In 2005, Craig was contracted by Eon Productions to portray James Bond. 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. Being born in 1968, Craig is the first actor to portray James Bond to have been born after the Bond series already started, and Ian Fleming, the novels' writer, had died. 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, unlike previous actors, was not considered by the protesters to fit the tall, dark, handsome image of Bond to which viewers had been 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 on 14 November 2006 and grossed a total of US$594,239,066 worldwide, which makes the film the highest grossing Bond film to date. 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 plays 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 for four more Bond films, through to Bond 25.

In 2006, Craig was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On 12 June 2008, Craig sliced the top of one of his fingers off while filming Quantum of Solace. The accident was the latest in 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 also states that his favourite previous Bond actor was 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 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 he was 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.

On 19 April 2010, 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 finally released on 23 October 2012, and is expected to be part of year-long celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Dr. No. On 8 September 2012, it was announced that Daniel 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 less than Roger Moore's record of seven.

Other projects

In 1999, Craig starred as Richard in a TV drama called Shockers: The Visitor. In 2007, he portrayed Lord Asriel in The Golden Compass, the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel. Eva Green, who played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, also starred in the film, although she did not 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 2001, 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 programme.

In 2008's Defiance, he played Tuvia Bielski, a Jewish resistance fighter in the forests of Belarus during World War II who saved 1,200 people The shot in Casino Royale of Craig sporting swimming trunks has often topped many sexiest male celebrity polls, and in 2009 Del Monte Foods launched an ice pop moulded to resemble Craig emerging from the sea. He co-starred with Hugh Jackman, in a limited engagement of the play A Steady Rain, on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre, which opened on 10 September 2009 and closed on 6 December 2009.

Craig lent his voice and likeness as James Bond for both the Wii game GoldenEye 007, an enhanced remake of the 1997 game for the Nintendo 64, and James Bond 007: Blood Stone, an original game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and Microsoft Windows. In August 2010, Craig was cast as crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist in David Fincher's 2011 adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Craig co-starred with Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde in Cowboys & Aliens, an American science fiction Western film, based on Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's 2006 graphic novel of the same name. Craig hosted the American late-night live television sketch comedy Saturday Night Live on 6 October 2012.

Personal life

In 1992, Craig married actress Fiona Loudon, with whom he had a daughter, Ella. The marriage ended in divorce in 1994.

After his divorce, he was in a seven-year relationship with German actress Heike Makatsch, ending in 2001. He subsequently dated film producer Satsuki Mitchell from 2004 until 2010. Craig and actress Rachel Weisz had been friends for many years, and worked together on the movie Dream House. They began dating in December 2010 and married on 22 June 2011 in a private New York City ceremony, with just four guests in attendance, including Craig's 18-year-old daughter, Ella, and Weisz's four-year-old son, Henry.

In October 2008, Craig paid £4 million for an apartment in a converted old house in Primrose Hill near Regent's Park, London. He is a Liverpool F.C. supporter.