Daniel Craig changed James Bond forever 

How Daniel Craig changed James Bond forever

Words: Sam Knight Producer: Bianca Farmakis In partnership with

Daniel Craig was 37 and blond when he was cast as the world’s most famous spy, in 2005. Now, at 52, with dirty gray hair, the star who made an ageing franchise more exciting than ever is preparing for life after James Bond.

Every Bond shoot is its own version of chaos, and the making of No Time To Die, Craig’s fifth and final film in the role, was no different. The first director quit, Craig got injured, a set exploded and a pandemic delayed the film’s release by seven months.

More men have walked on the moon than have played the part, and Craig has been Bond for the longest of all—14 years. Now that it’s coming to an end, he struggles to understand what has happened to him and what he has achieved.

Craig’s films in the role have already grossed more than $3 billion. He also changed the part in dramatic terms. In Craig’s hands, Bond aged, fell in love, and wept for the first time.

“We felt the world has changed and the nature of these films has to change. It was a new century and a new era. It felt like we had to redefine.”

— Barbara Broccoli, Producer and daughter of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, the producer of the first ever Bond film.

A blond Bond

It’s easy to forget, almost 15 years later, how badly Craig’s casting went down—especially in Britain, where James Bond is considered to be a piece of the national culture. Outraged fans even set up websites to register their anger.

Casino changed all

For a Bond movie, Casino Royale was quietly revolutionary. There was no Q dishing out gadgets, no flirting with Moneypenny, and scarcely a one-liner. Early in the film, Craig drives a Ford Mondeo and is mistaken for a parking valet, unthinkable for Roger Moore.

Bond Boy

Craig bulked up for the filming, and for the first time James Bond’s body became an object of fascination. His emergence from the sea, all muscle and swimming trunks, evoked Ursula Andress from Dr. No , 44 years earlier.

Ladies man to lover

More than anything, though, Craig’s Bond was capable of emotion. His relationship with Vesper Lynd, has the heft of a genuine love affair. He talks about getting out of the spy game. Of course, he can’t. As in the book, Lynd betrays Bond and dies.

“He grounded a fantasy character in real emotion, which is what I think we hadn’t realised we’d missed amongst the action and the bravado.”

— Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Scriptwriter for No Time To Die

After 14 years, busted shoulders, the best part of $50 million, a happy home, now Craig is no longer in the Bond universe. He can see a world outside. “I don’t know what it is, maybe having another kid, maybe just being older,” he says of the future.

Your move, Mr Bond.

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