Throughout his early career, Daniel Craig enjoyed the anonymity that comes with not being an A-list actor. That changed, however, when it was announced that he was considered for the role of James Bond in the adaptation of Ian Flemings’ Casino Royale. Craig denied rumours that he was offered a three-picture deal –at the time, Pierce Brosnan was still in the running to continue his reign as the famed British agent. But rumours were enough to blow the lid off Craig’s obscurity and thrust the actor known to loathe publicity into the limelight, especially after he did indeed become the sixth actor to play 007. Even if he wasn’t considered for the role, his increasingly high-profile work would have made him a star regardless.
Born in Chester – England’s walled city – Craig grew up in nearby Liverpool, where his mother studied art at university and his stepfather, the painter Max Blond, plied his craft. At 16, he moved to London to train at the National Youth Theatre and later the classically-schooled actor graduated from the esteemed Guildhall School of Music and Drama and in 1992 made his film debut in the little-known Australian/American co-production, The Power of One, which also featured Morgan Freeman.
A series of made-for-TV films made Craig a recognizable face in the UK but it was the 1996 miniseries, Our Friends to the North, which elevated Craig’s status. The nine-parter followed the fortunes of four friends and Craig, playing one such friend, shone in the prominent role.
From 2000 onward, Craig was a more frequent fixture in Hollywood, appearing in 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition in 2002, and most notably Sylvia in 2003. In 2005, Craig starred opposite Adrian Brody in The Jacket and then hit the set of Steven Spielberg’s latest project (the working title is Vengeance) before announcing that he’d signed on to become superspy James Bond for the next three films in the long-running series.
Daniel Craig now stars in a fantastic new James Bond Film called Quantum of Solace in which seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country’s water supply.
