Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig in a gondola in Venice, Italy during the filming of Casino Royale
Born	Daniel Wroughton Craig
Occupation	actor
Years active	1992—present
Spouse	Fiona Loudon 1992 - 1994 divorced,
Children	Ella

Daniel Wroughton Craig^[1] (born 2 March 1968^[2]) is a BAFTA-nominated English actor best known as the sixth actor to portray secret agent James Bond in the official film series from EON Productions. He made his debut as the character on 14 November 2006, in the 21st official Bond film, Casino Royale, to much critical acclaim.^[3]

Biography

Early life

Craig was born in Chester, England, the son of Timothy John Wroughton Craig, who served as a Midshipman in the Merchant Navy and worked in various occupations when he came ashore; and Olivia Williams Craig, an art teacher.

He was brought up in Frodsham where his father was landlord of the "Ring 'O Bells" and "The Boot" pubs in Willington, near Chester, and then Hoylake on the Wirral (near Liverpool). He attended Hilbre High School and Calday Grange Grammar School. He played for Hoylake Rugby Club.^[4] Craig moved to London when he was sixteen to join the National Youth Theatre after a brief stay at Calday.

Career

He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1991, and appeared in some minor roles including Sharpe's Eagle and an episode of Drop The Dead Donkey in 1993, with his first major leading role on screen being as a co-star in the 1996 BBC Television serial Our Friends in the North. He continued his relationship with the BBC by starring in the 1997 Francis Bacon biopic Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon, portraying Bacon's jilted lover George Dyer. In the latter movie, Craig agreed to be shot in the nude, including full-frontals. 1997 also saw the release 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 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (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 The Mother (2003) with Anne Reid, Layer Cake (2004) with Sienna Miller, Sword of Honour (2001), Sylvia (2003) with Gwyneth Paltrow, Enduring Love (2004) with Rhys Ifans, and Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005).

In 2006, after playing James Bond in Casino Royale (see below), Craig moved on to portraying the character of Lord Asriel in the The Golden Compass, the forthcoming film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel.^[5] Eva Green, who played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale will also star in the film. 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."^[6] 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.^[7]

James Bond (2005–present)

As early as February 2005, Craig had been named in the media as a possible James Bond. On 6 April 2005, Craig was reported to have been signed by EON Productions as part of a three-film contract worth £15 million ($29,696,972),^[8] however this news was later debunked by the BBC,^[9] who contacted EON for an official report. According to Craig, MGM offered him the role but the Broccoli family never got in touch with him.^{[citation needed]}.

Finally, on 23 October 2005, Craig signed a three-film contract, with the first, Casino Royale, released on 14 November 2006. Craig is the first actor to step into the role who was born after the first Bond film, Dr. No, was released. Craig is also the first Bond to be hired after the death of Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli in 1996 and Harry Saltzman in 1994. He also recently signed a contract for both Bond films 24 and 25..^[10]

Craig's hiring as James Bond was controversial among some fans and critics, with some vocal fans threatening a boycott of the film^[11] and going so far as to set up a website^[12][13] because, unlike all his predecessors, Craig is blond and of average height. Media coverage of the controversy resulted in numerous actors publicly voicing their support of Craig. Most notably, three of the five previous actors who portrayed Bond—Timothy Dalton, Sean Connery, Roger Moore—called his casting a good decision. Clive Owen, who had been linked to the role, also spoke in defense of Craig, as did co-star Judi Dench.^[14]

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Brosnan was asked, "What do you think of the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, and will you be watching Casino Royale?" He contradicted his own earlier responses and 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".^[15]

After the film was released, Craig's realistic and more humane portrayal of Bond, as well as his well-regarded acting abilities, received wide praise. Casino Royale received a "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 7.8/10. Of 193 reviews, 94% were positive. Several critics have said that Craig is the most believable and charismatic Bond since Sean Connery.^[16] Craig was nominated for a BAFTA 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.

Daniel Craig had to go on The Zone Diet, the diet that Brad Pitt was on for his role in Fight Club. The diet consist of a high protein low carbohydrate diet.^[17][18] 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 rumors 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 currently un-named follow-up film, known only as Bond 22, will be released on 7 November 2008 and that Craig has been signed to play Bond, with an option for a third film.^[19] 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.^[20]

As of 2006, Casino Royale became #5 best-selling Bond film of all time; however, with recent DVD and box office sales, Casino Royale has shot up to the #2 best-selling Bond film of all time as of 2007. In 2007, Craig was invited to join the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[21][22]

Personal life

Craig was previously married to British actress Fiona Loudon. They had one child together, Ella, who was born in 1992.^[23] He was rumored to be having an affair with Sienna Miller.^[24][25] He has also said that he enjoys playing video games in his spare time. ^[26] He has been dating American producer Satsuki Mitchell since 2005. ^[27]

Filmography

References

External links

• Daniel Craig at IMDb
• Daniel Craig biography and credits at the BFI's Screenonline
• Stage and Screen Online Bond composer David Arnold talks about how Daniel Craig's performance in Casino Royale influenced his music.
• A very detailed biography from Tiscali Film & TV