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Daniel Craig Profile |
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Birth Date: March 2, 1968
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Birth Place: Chester, Cheshire, England, UK
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Birth Name: Daniel Wroughton Craig
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Height: 5'11"
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Biography |
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. He is the sixth
and current actor to portray James Bond.
He was born in Chester, the son of a steel erector and an
art teacher. He was brought up in Prescot, near Liverpool
and Frodsham, near Chester. He also attended Hilbre High
School, West Kirby (near Liverpool) and played rugby at
nearby Hoylake Rugby Club. After briefly attending Sixth
Form at Calday Grange Grammar School, he moved to London
when he was 16 to join the National Youth Theatre, later
securing a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Craig's film career began with The Power of One in 1992, and
he later gained wider recognition in the UK with a
co-starring role in the critically acclaimed BBC2 drama
serial Our Friends in the North in 1996. Following a
lighthearted introduction to international audiences as
Angelina Jolie's rival and sometime love interest in Lara
Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), he raised his profile in the
United States in Sam Mendes' movie Road to Perdition (2002),
with Tom Hanks, playing a weaselly murderer who hides behind
his mobster father's shadow. Other leading film roles have
included Sylvia (2003) with Gwyneth Paltrow and Enduring
Love (2004) with Rhys Ifans. In 2005, Craig played a Jewish,
South African-born Mossad agent in Steven Spielberg's
controversial, Oscar-nominated political thriller, Munich.
On October 9, 2005, the News of the World newspaper revealed
that Craig had allegedly been having an affair with Sienna
Miller, his co-star in Layer Cake (2005). Miller had
recently been engaged to Jude Law.
He will be lending his voice for DreamWorks Animation's Kung
Fu Panda starring Jack Black.
As early as February 2005, Craig had been named in the media
as a possible contender to replace Pierce Brosnan as James
Bond. On April 6, 2005 Craig was reported to have been
signed by EON Productions as part of a three-film contract
worth £15 million, however, this news was later debunked by
the BBC 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.
Finally, on October 14, 2005, EON Productions named Daniel
Craig as the sixth actor to portray 007, taking over for
Pierce Brosnan. Craig signed a three-film contract, with the
first, Casino Royale, expected to be released worldwide on
November 17, 2006. The announcement was made at noon in
London at HMS President, a Royal Naval Reserve station at
St. Katharine Docks, on the banks of the River Thames
downstream of Tower Bridge.
When announced, because Daniel Craig has blond hair instead
of Bond's typical dark hair, he was consequently dubbed in
the media as "James Blond." Roger Moore also sported a
lighter sandy coloured hair throughout many of his films,
but he is not considered blond.
Born the year after the release of You Only Live Twice and
before the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Craig
is the first James Bond actor to be born after the start of
the film series, and also the first to be born after Ian
Fleming's death in 1964.
The casting of Craig as Bond has been controversial among
many fans of the film series, resulting in one group
creating a website, craignotbond.com, advocating a boycott
of the film unless EON Productions reconsiders its casting,
even though production of Casino Royale had already begun.
The James Bond fanbase is deeply divided over Craig. In
defense of Craig, a number of websites to counter
Craignotbond.com have been created, such as craigasbond.com
and craigisbond.net and givecraigachance.com, although these
have had little publicity or visits compared to
Craignotbond.com. Many actors and actresses who have either
worked with Craig or have been featured in previous Bond
films have argued that Craig is a good choice as Bond. This
list includes four of the past Bond actors: Sean Connery,
Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan. Miss
Moneypenny, Samantha Bond, and the villain Scaramanga,
Christopher Lee, have also backed the new Bond, as has
former Bond villain Sean Bean, who worked with Craig in
Sharpe's Eagle. Judi Dench has also voiced her support for
Craig in this role, and criticized the negative reaction: "I
hate how people have been attacking Daniel Craig. It's
despicable and it disgusts me. I have filmed with him in
Prague and the Bahamas and he is a fine actor. He brings
something new and edgy to the role. His critics will be
proved wrong." |
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Other Information |
Lived in London with German actress Heike Makatsch. [April
2001]
He has a daughter, who lives with his ex-wife in London.
2000: Named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by
European Film Promotion.
He was nominated for a 2002 London Evening Standard Theatre
Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Number at the
Royal Court Theatre Downstairs.
One of the many actors considered to take over James Bond
from Pierce Brosnan. He officially accepted the role in
October, 2005.
The first blond actor to portray James Bond.
Was the last actor considered for the role of "Rorschach" in
the doomed movie adaptation of Alan Moore's comic-book
mini-series, Watchmen (2006).
Father: Tim Craig
Mother: Olivia Craig
Older sister: Lea Craig
Step-father: Max Blond
He is a good friend of supermodel Kate Moss. |
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