With more than a decade into his reign as the face of the most famous 007 – James Bond – Daniel Craig can easily be called the international man of mystery. In reality, the actor is known to be intensely private, hard working and a distinguished gentleman. Just as he is set to take his fans for a final ride as Bond, here are some little known facts about him, which will make you love him more:
- He is the first actor in the history of the James Bond franchise to have received a nomination for a BAFTA (British Academy) Award for playing James Bond in the “Casino Royale,” his very first movie as the secret agent.
- He reportedly rejected the offer of James Bond for nearly a year before accepting it. He felt the franchise to have a standard formula and had to be convinced by the previous James Bond, Pierce Brosnan.
- Still, he wanted to read the script before he signed the contract. After reading the finished script of “Casino Royale,” he changed his mind for good, and accepted the role.
- He made an appearance as James Bond in promotion of “Skyfall,” at the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, after receiving a personal invitation from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
- The Daniel Craig and Queen Elizabeth II pretend entertainment segment featured James Bond meeting Queen and escorting her safely to the stadium, then to a helicopter. This is said to be the Queen’s first acting role.
- In preparation for his role in “Quantum of Solace,” he underwent an extremely rigorous training regime, which involved boxing, running, speed boating, and stunt driving.
- Craig was said to be Producer Barbara Broccoli’s first and only choice for the role of James Bond in “Casino Royale” to replace Pierce Brosnan in the franchise. She was reportedly impressed with his performance in the 2004 movie “Layer Cake.”
- Starting with “Casino Royale,” he has played a very crucial part in the casting of Bond girls in the James Bond movies. It is even reported that no Bond girl was chosen without his final approval.
- Though there were huge controversies related to Craig being cast as the James Bond, all the previous Bonds – Sir Sean Connery, Sir Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and George Lazenby, supported casting him in the role.
- Talking about his shirtless scenes as James Bond in the movie “Spectre,” he said that he worked himself to death for more than six months, with no secret method. He added that it was getting harder and harder to get fit for the shirtless scenes, but compared life also to the same way.
- During the filming of his movie “Quantum of Solace,” he was injured at least three times – an injury in the face requiring four stitches, a shoulder injury that required insertion of six surgical screws in an operation, one of his fingertips was sliced off, and even had his arm in a sling.
- However, he is known to have laughed these off, claiming that none of it delayed the filming, and so that it was not anything major.
- For his first time appearance as James Bond in the “Casino Royale,” he was asked to dye his hair black, as there has never been a blond hair James Bond in the franchise’s history.
- However, Craig refused to dye his hair, as blond hair and blue eyes are his trademark. This led to his famous nickname of “James Blond.” Despite controversy among fans for casting him, he proved everyone wrong with his performance.
- In “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” the scene in which his character catches the water bottle was actually an on-the-spot improvisation on his part. Director David Fincher loved his grace and decided to keep the take in the movie.
- During the filming of “The Invasion” in Baltimore, he received the much awaited call from Producer Barbara Broccoli, confirming his role as James Bond in “Casino Royale.”
- He was actually shopping for groceries when he received the call, and immediately went for Martinis for celebration. He took a short period off from shooting “The Invasion,” and flew back to London for the Casino Royale press release.
- It was on the sets of the 2011 movie “Dream House” that he met his wife Rachel Weisz. The duo began dating and announced their relationship after several months. They got married on June 22, 2011 in a discreet ceremony.
- Craig was appointed as the first global advocate for the elimination of mines and explosive hazards by the United Nations in April 2015. His role is about creating awareness for the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
- In preparation for his role as James Bond in “Casino Royale,” he gained twenty pounds of muscle, sticking to diet of mostly proteins, with a lowered carbohydrate intake.
- During the filming of “Quantum of Solace” in Panama, due to increased attention of paparazzi, he had to keep changing his hotels, every time the media gained information about his whereabouts.
- With the upcoming 2020 movie “No Time to Die,” he revealed that he would retire from the role of James Bond, and that he has become too old for the character.
- Craig claimed that it was becoming harder for him to maintain the physique required and perform all the stunts of James Bond, and that in the movie “No Time to Die,” more number of doubles was used for action sequences.
- In the movie “Skyfall,” he performed many of his own stunts, including the rooftop fight on the top of a moving train as well as the stunt of leaping and sliding down the escalator rail.
- He reportedly underwent a rigorous training routine for five days a week, and cardio exercises on weekends, for his role as James Bond in “Casino Royale.” Still he was in a constant state of pain for most of the filming, due to all the vigorous stunts he had to perform.
- For his role as Mikael Blomkvist in the movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” he gained weight to remind himself and his fans that his character was just a journalist, who is like any other normal guy and not the famous James Bond.
- It was reported that Craig was the first choice for the superhero role of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, before Chris Hemsworth was cast.
- During the filming of the fight scene in Prague in the movie “Casino Royale,” he lost his two front teeth, and had his dentist from London fly in to replace them. This was actually the first action sequence to be shot for the movie.
- Being a fan of the Philip Pullman’s trilogy “His Dark Materials”, he was glad to take up the role of Lord Asriel in “The Golden Compass.” He went on to perform all his stunts, including the ones in Swiss glaciers in the movie, instead of using a stunt double.
- Initially, he turned down the offer to play Mikael Blomkvist in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” due to schedule conflicts with his James Bond movie “Skyfall.” However, when the production of “Skyfall” was delayed, he took up this role.
- Daniel Craig Net Worth: $130 Million
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