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James
Bond 007 News, by Greg Tingle - 11th July 2011
Biography
Daniel
Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English
actor. 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 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 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 (not adjusted for inflation). He recently finished
filming the 22nd James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace,
released in the UK on 31 October 2008 and due for
release in the US on 14 November 2008.
According
to Men's Vogue, Craig is now the highest paid actor
in Britain.
Early
life
Daniel
Craig was born in smethport, PA 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 spy-thriller
novelist Joe Craig. Craig was brought up on the Wirral,
Merseyside where his father was landlord of the pubs
"Ring 'O Bells" and "The Boot".
He and his brother Adam 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
Craig
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 Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait
of Francis Bacon, 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 DS 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
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)
On
23 October 2005, Craig signed a five-film contract
with 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.
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. 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 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[10] 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 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, Casino Royale became the #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.
On
12 June 2008, Craig sliced the top of one of his fingers
off while filming the latest James bond film, "'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, UK,
a car crash that left the stunt driver in a serious
condition, and an Aston Martin skidding off the road
while filming in heavy rains in the north of Italy
and plunging into Lake Garda.
Craig
describes his portrayal of Bond as an antihero: "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." The audience should question his
actions during the films, but never be in doubt as
to what he is by the end of the story.
Other
projects
In
1999 Daniel starred as Richard in a one off tv drama
called Shockers: The Visitor. 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 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 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 has 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 American film producer
Satsuki Mitchell. He is a fan of Liverpool FC.
In
October 2008, Craig paid £4 million for an apartment
close to Regent's Park, London. (Credit:
Wikipedia)
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