Daniel Craig Biography

Daniel Craig
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig, November 2008, NYC.
Born Daniel Wroughton Craig
2 March 1968 (1968-03-02) (age 40)
Flag of England Chester, England
Occupation Actor
Years active 1992–present
Spouse(s) Fiona Loudon (1992–94)

Daniel Wroughton Craig1 (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.2 He recently finished filming the 22nd James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, released in the UK on 31 October 2008 and in the US on 14 November 2008.

According to Men's Vogue, Craig is now the highest paid actor in Britain.3

Contents

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 spy-thriller novelist Joe Craig.His godmother was his mothers best friend Carol Tipping. Craig was brought up on the Wirral, Merseyside. His father was the landlord of the pubs "Ring 'O Bells" and "The Boot Inn".4 He and his brother Adam attended Hilbre High School and Calday Grange Grammar School in West Kirby. He played for Hoylake Rugby Club.5 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. The year 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. Craig had a small part as John Ballard in Elizabeth in 1998.

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), Infamous (2006), and The Golden Compass (2007).

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.6 Being born in 1968, Craig is the first actor to portray James Bond to be born after the Bond series already started.

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,7 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.8

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.9

After the film was released, Craig's performance was highly acclaimed. Critic Paul Arendt of BBC Films,10 Kim Newman of Empire11 and Todd Carty of Variety12 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.13 Producer Barbara Broccoli also denied other rumours in an interview with Variety.14

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,15 will be released on 7 November and that Craig plays Bond with an option for a third film.16 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 25.17

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.18

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, 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.19 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".20

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 Golden Compass, the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel. 21 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."22 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.23

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 1994.24 After his divorce he was in a seven-year relationship with German actress Heike Makatsch and is currently in a relationship with American film producer Satsuki Mitchell. He is a fan of Liverpool FC.25

In October 2008, Craig paid £4 million for an apartment close to Regent's Park, London.26

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1992 The Power of One Sgt. Botha, a.k.a. The Judge
1993 Sharpe's Eagle Lt. Berry Television drama
1995 A Kid in King Arthur's Court Master Kane
1996 The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders James "Jemmy" Seagrave Television drama
Our Friends in the North George "Geordie" Peacock Television drama
1997 Obsession – Besessene Seelen John McHale
1997 The Ice House D.S. Andy McLoughlin TV Mystery/Drama from the novel by Minette Walters
1998 Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon George Dyer
Love and Rage James Lynchehaun
Elizabeth John Ballard
1999 The Trench Sgt. Telford Winter
2000 Some Voices Ray
Hotel Splendide Ronald Blanche
I Dreamed of Africa Declan Fielding
2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Alex West
Sword of Honour Guy Crouchback
2002 Copenhagen Werner Heisenberg Television drama, stage adaptation
Ten Minutes Older: The Cello Cecil
Road to Perdition Connor Rooney
2003 Sylvia Ted Hughes
The Mother Darren
2004 Layer Cake XXXX
Enduring Love Joe
2005 Munich Steve
Archangel Christopher Kelso Television drama
Fateless American Soldier
The Jacket Rudy Mackenzie
2006 Casino Royale James Bond Nominated: BAFTA Award for Best Actor (EON Productions)
Renaissance Barthélémy Karas Voice role
Infamous Perry Smith
2007 The Golden Compass Lord Asriel
The Invasion Ben Driscoll
2008 Flashbacks of a Fool Joe Scot
Quantum of Solace James Bond (EON Productions)
Defiance Tuvia Bielski completed
2009 I, Lucifer Lucifer on hold
2011 Bond 23 James Bond announced

References

  1. ^ "GRO Birth Registration Index". Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
  2. ^ Hoyle, Ben (2006-11-15). "'Best Bond ever' vanquishes his greatest foe — the critics", The Times. Retrieved on 15 November 2006. 
  3. ^ The Silent Killer, Men's Vogue, November 2008
  4. ^ http://www.oldeworldepubs.co.uk/cgi-bin/view2.pl?id=323
  5. ^ Slater, Matt (17 July 2006). "A-Hoylake!", BBC Sport Online. Retrieved on 29 December 2007. 
  6. ^ "Daniel Craig: Our Friend in MI6", BBC News Online (14 October 2005). Retrieved on 27 December 2007. 
  7. ^ Medley, Mark. "Pierce Brosnan answers." globeandmail.com.
  8. ^ "Owen backs 'proper actor' as Bond", BBC News Online (2006-09-19). Retrieved on 19 September 2006. 
  9. ^ "Casino Royale box office results". boxofficemojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  10. ^ Arendt, Paul (17 November 2006). "Casino Royale (2006)". BBC Films. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
  11. ^ Newman, Kim. "Casino Royale". Empire. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.
  12. ^ McCarthy, Todd (9 November 2006). "Casino Royale", Variety. Retrieved on 21 November 2006. 
  13. ^ Stuart Jeffries (17 November 2006). "Seven's deadly sins", The Guardian. 
  14. ^ Nicole Laporte (5 March 2006). "Bond ambition: 007 gets face lift", Variety. 
  15. ^ "New Bond film title is confirmed", BBC News Online (2008-01-24). Retrieved on 24 January 2008. 
  16. ^ "Campbell and Broccoli explain the shift from Brosnan to Craig, hints for Bond 22 plotlines", MI6 News (2006-11-18). 
  17. ^ Bond, Paul (2007-10-26). "Sloan sees hope in talks", The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 3 November 2007. 
  18. ^ (2007-06-18). "Academy Invites 115 to Become Members". Press release.
  19. ^ Kevin Sessums (2008-10-26). "The Man Who Loves Being Bad", Parade. Retrieved on 27 October 2008. 
  20. ^ "Daniel Craig: Quantum of Solace". SuicideGirls.com (14 November 2008). Retrieved on 2008-11-14..
  21. ^ "Craig lands role in Pullman film", BBC News Online (2006-08-18). Retrieved on 19 August 2006. 
  22. ^ Michael Hinman (2007-01-06). "Forget Matt Damon, Daniel Craig Wants To Be Kirk", SyFy Portal. Retrieved on 6 January 2007. 
  23. ^ "Michael to be in Tate sketch show", BBC News Online (2007-07-17). Retrieved on 9 September 2007. 
  24. ^ Fulton, Rick (2006-11-07). "Royale Family", Daily Record. Retrieved on 9 November 2006. 
  25. ^ Daniel Craig: Why 007 owes everything to Merseyside
  26. ^ "James Bond actor Daniel Craig buys £4 million home in area fit for a spy". The Daily Telegraph (2008-10-12). Retrieved on 2008-10-25.

External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Daniel Craig
Sister project Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Daniel Craig
Preceded by
Pierce Brosnan
1995-2002		 James Bond actor
2006-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Sean Connery
2005		 Video Game James Bond actor
2008		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
v • d • e
Actors who have played James Bond
Official films
Other productions
Actresses who have portrayed Bond girls


Persondata
NAME Daniel Craig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Daniel Wroughton Craig
SHORT DESCRIPTION English actor
DATE OF BIRTH 2 March 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Chester, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH