Daniel Craig - James Bond 007 Biography
Daniel Wroughton Craig was born in 1968 to Olivia, an art teacher, and Timothy, who worked in the Navy but also took on various other work whilst he was ashore.
When Craig was nine, the family moved to the Wirral where he attended Hilbre High School and enjoyed playing rugby and taking part in school plays. It was Olivia’s background, attending Art College and winning a place at RADA (which she didn’t take), that was to have the biggest influence on Daniel when his parents divorced.
Academically, Craig wasn’t a natural and after spending his childhood in Liverpool, he decided to move to London when he was 16 to join the National Youth Theatre. He worked mostly in restaurant kitchens to finance his studies at the NYT. Despite the hardship of working endless hours, he reveled in the theatre’s tours to Valencia and Moscow and made his first proper stage debut in 'Troilus and Cressida'.
After the NYT, Craig won a place at drama school, which proved more of a challenge than anticipated as he continually failed audition after audition and it seemed his wish may go unfulfilled. But, he was finally accepted at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1988 and for the next three years he received the education he’d always longed for, being tutored by the Royal Shakespeare Company in classes with names such as Ewan McGregor and Rhys Ifans.
Craig’s career began promisingly when he was cast in the film 'The Power of One' before he had even graduated. 1992-1993 would be a busy year in his acting CV when several of the roles he’d filmed were released in quick succession. Parts in the 'Young Indiana Jones' series and 'Drop the Dead Donkey' were enough to pay the bills, but not to attract any significant attention from the critics.
In October 2007, it was revealed that Craig had signed on for four more Bond films and after several months of speculation as to the release date, producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli officially announced that the follow-up to Casino Royale would be released in November 2008.
Like Timothy Dalton before him, Craig stands by the fact he is an actor first and Bond second and is adamant he will maintain an identity outside the famous character. To support this, Craig took the part of Lord Asriel in what will be the first of an intended trilogy of Philip Pullman’s bestselling books. Based on the first novel, 'The Golden Compass' was released late in 2007 with an all-star cast including Craig’s former Bond girl co-star, Eva Green.
'The Invasion' (2007), a science fiction horror film, saw Craig team up with Nicole Kidman in a project that failed both critically and financially. This was followed up with another disappointment in 2008 British drama 'Flashbacks of a Fool', which won Craig praise for his acting while the movie’s scripting was criticised.
However, the run of bad luck and box office failures was brought to an end with Craig’s second portrayal of Bond in his next outing as the spy in the 22nd 007 film. Released in 2008, 'Quantum of Solace' performed well at the box office and earned Craig an Empire Award nomination for best actor. While the movie was not praised as much as Casino Royale, it was well received by audiences and broke the UK opening weekend record.
True to his promise not to let Bond’s character define his roles, Craig went on to star in 'Defiance', a 2008 World War II film set during the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. It opened to mixed reviews from critics and just about broke even commercially.
Craig’s fans are in for a treat in 2011, with the star scheduled to appear in a number of films. These include 'The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn', 'Dream House', 'Cowboys & Aliens' and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', while his third Bond film has a 2012 release date.
Daniel Craig - James Bond 007
Daniel Craig - James Bond 007
