Biography: Daniel Craig, the New James Bond

Daniel Wroughton Craig was born on March 2, 1968 in Chester, England. He was brought up in Frodsham, near Liverpool in England where he attended high school and played rugby. Craig moved to London when he was 16 years old to join the National Youth Theatre. This was the beginning of Craig’s acting career. He graduated from the school in 1991 and landed his first major leading role on screen as a co-star on the 1996 BBC Television series ‘Our Friends in the North.’ This was only the beginning of what has become a very successful acting career.

Craig would make his international audience debut as a rival to Angelina Jolie in the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001. He continued to improve his acting skills and scored a role in a 2002 Tom Hanks film entitled Road to Perdition. These films were used as stepping stones on his way to being granted the highly acclaimed role as James Bond. Craig was signed on as the sixth actor to portray Ian Fleming’s James Bond in one of the most successful movie series of all time. 

Craig’s hiring as James Bond turned out to be very controversial among some fans and critics, there were even reports of people boycotting the film, Casino Royale. He was dubbed the nickname “James Blonde” because many critics felt like he was too blonde to play the part of Ian Fleming’s Bond. Although he received criticism from fans and critics, he had the backing of four of the previous five actors who portrayed Bond; Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan. All of these previous ‘Bonds’ called his casting a good decision.