How Daniel Craig Became James Bond

In 2005, James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli decided the series needed a reboot. Following Die Another Day, it was, in Wilson’s words, “very important to bring it back to Earth.” The decision was solidified when the rights to Casino Royale, Ian Fleming’s first James Bond book, became available, and the filmmakers grabbed the opportunity to return 007 to his realistic roots.

“It’s really the first mission that Bond has,” said Wilson. “It’s right after he got his 00 status and is about what he goes through, the physical ordeal, the mental pressures he has and then the love affair he has.”

A fresh start needed a new Bond. Casting Director Debbie McWilliams, who had participated in casting both Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, was tasked with finding the new 007 and initially focused her search on young actors to match the story of a new agent earning his stripes. Yet when it was decided to widen the age range of the actors, Barbara Broccoli had one name at the top of her list: Daniel Craig. It was an iconic role that had never been on the Cheshire-born actor’s wish list.

“When I became an actor, I never fantasised about playing James Bond,” said Craig. “As a kid, yeah, but that was being James Bond, that was something else, that was fantasy.”

A graduate of the National Youth Theatre and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Craig had caught the eye in the BBC drama Our Friends In The North. He subsequently proved his range in a succession of diverse, critically acclaimed roles, all collaborations with major filmmakers; as the muse of artist Francis Bacon in John Maybury’s Love Is The Devil, as Paul Newman’s son in Sam Mendes’ Road To Perdition, and as a Mossad agent on the trail of Palestinian terrorists in Steven Spielberg’s Munich. While it is often cited that Craig’s lead performance in Matthew Vaughn’s Layer Cake was his calling card for 007, it was his performance as Jesuit priest John Ballard in Shekhar Kapur’s 1998 period drama Elizabeth that grabbed Broccoli’s attention.

“He defines his generation of actors,” she said. “He’s got everything that is required — he has that toughness but he has that vulnerability, he’s incredibly sexy, he’s very charismatic, and he’s very, very versatile and agile as an actor.”

While Craig had been in discussions with Broccoli and director Martin Campbell, even reading Paul Haggis’ Casino Royale script, the actor still had to do a screen test. The testing process for Casino Royale started in July 2005 under the code-name Destiny, with a second phase taking place in September using the faux title Alcatraz. 

Bond screen tests are elaborate affairs involving hair and make-up, costumes, sets, and other actors. Under the guidance of Martin Campbell, the would-be 007s were led through a scene from From Russia With Love, where Bond first meets Tatiana Romanova. On September 27, Henry Cavill donned the tux. The following day, Sam Worthington stepped in front of the camera, and then on September 29th, it was Craig’s turn. The actor was scheduled to do the whole day, but by lunchtime decided he had had enough. “I was like, ‘This is crazy’,” Craig told Mark Salisbury for the book Being Bond. “I started the way I meant to go on – being a pain in the arse!”

Despite Craig being perfect in the role, it was still not a done deal. The actor was wary of the huge responsibility of the role and the potential of being typecast. He sought advice from family, friends, and colleagues, including former Bond Pierce Brosnan, who just said, “Go for it.” To help allay Craig’s concerns and give him greater control over his own destiny, Broccoli gifted him creative input into the development of the script, the choice of director, and the key cast.  

Craig learned he had won the role on a phone call while out shopping, during a day off shooting The Invasion opposite Nicole Kidman in Baltimore.

“It’s a bit anticlimactic, really, because your expectations go so high, and then, suddenly, they go, ‘Yes, it’s yours’,” he remembered. “And you never really know what to do with yourself. I went out and got very drunk on my own — I was filming in Baltimore and everybody else was working. Of course, I couldn’t really tell people in the bar I was sitting in getting very drunk, ‘I’m James Bond’. I think I would have been thrown out on my ear or sent off to a mental hospital.”

The actor was announced to the world as the next 007 in a media event on the River Thames on October 14, 2005. Having flown back from the US, he was escorted to the press conference by a convoy of Royal Marine Rigid Raider Speedboats.

“I’m just glad I didn’t fall off the boat.” He laughed. “I mean, that’s really the only thing that really matters. If I had fallen off, I would have swum to the other shore and said, ‘Thanks. Goodnight. I had a go but it didn’t work.’ The Royal Marine next to me just said, ‘If you fall off, you’ll probably be dead anyway, so don’t worry about it.’”

The initial response was mixed. The actor was derided for being too short — he’s 5ft 11” — and for not having the dark hair described by Ian Fleming in the novels. He was even criticised for sporting a life preserver, which naval health and safety regulations demanded he wear at the last minute. “Apparently it was a sign I couldn’t swim or something,” he said. “I should have worn orange arm bands — it would have been a much better look.” Some of the Bond veterans had seen all this sniping before.

“When Sean Connery was hired everyone said, ‘Oh disaster!’ because he wasn’t a David Niven type,” observed Broccoli.

“It was the typical tabloid bullshit that goes with any new Bond,” chimed Martin Campbell, who directed Pierce Brosnan’s first 007 mission, GoldenEye. “You’re guilty until proven innocent.”

With characteristic good humour, the actor took all the brickbats in his stride.

“Some of the stuff that’s been said is as close to a playground taunt as you are going to get,” he laughed at the time. “‘You’ve got big ears!’ Fucking hell! Well, the only way I can do that is to get it right. Believe me, no one cares more about this than I do.”

Of course, opinions changed immediately after Casino Royale premiered on November 14, 2006. Craig became the first actor to earn a BAFTA nomination for playing Bond and took the character in new directions over four more films. Not bad for a kid who grew up playing James Bond in the playground.