Daniel Craig is the first actor to be born after the death of Bond series’ creator, Ian Fleming. And dig this - Craig is the first Bond to be born after the start of the film series. As the handsome hunk turns 50 today (2 March), a look at his outings as 007.
The name’s Bond, James Bond.
Casino Royale (2006)
Daniel Craig, born Daniel Wroughton Craig, played the sixth James Bond in the popular franchise adapted from Ian Fleming’s spy novels.
Craig has worked in four James Bond films, the first being Casino Royale. The actor is known to have brought considerable depth and rawness to his character, which was somewhat lacking in his predecessor, Pierce Brosnan.
His Bond films are also known for doing away with the tropes that came with being “a spy with a license to kill”. He still did all that, but the stakes were higher and the scenes grimmer.
Casino Royale is the 21st spy film and third adaptation of Fleming’s first novel of the same name. The film managed to become the highest-grossing James Bond film, until Skyfall happened in 2012.
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Furthering the story line of the first film, Quantum of Solace was a further departure of the Bond tropes. Criag’s steely and controlled rage was testament of this. Bond’s “one and only love”, Vesper Lynd sets the perfect stage for revenge by leaving a clue about the organisation that orchestrated her doom, which became a major attraction for audiences. But due to a Writer’s Strike at the time of filming, critics and audiences felt the storyline suffered a blow. Craig and the director of the film, Marc Forster himself wrote sections of it, but did not get any credit in the final cut.
Despite this, Quantum of Solace remains the fourth-highest-grossing James Bond film of all time.
Skyfall (2012)
The combination of Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes really worked in Skyfall. Craig smashed records with his 2012 film.
Skyfall won several awards, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards and two Grammy Awards.
Spectre (2015)
Craig, called the “blondest” actor to play the official Bond, could not deliver another hit with Spectre.
In fact, amongst the four films, Spectre often remains at the bottom of the list.
Despite it all, Daniel Craig looked like a million bucks doing what he does best. Whether we see him in another Bond film or not, Craig shall remain a crowd favourite.
Happy birthday, Daniel Craig!
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