Chicago Sun-Times Weighs in on Craig
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Chicago Sun-Times Weights with Craig
[line]
Bond ambition
November 12, 2006
BY CINDY PEARLMAN
The man lies on concrete steps withering in pain from a gunshot wound to his leg. He looks behind him and sees a cool-eyed blond hunk holding a rather large gun to his heart. It will probably be the last thing the man sees before he meets his maker.
"Who ... who ... are you?" the dying man gasps.
"Bond. James Bond," says the guy with his finger on the trigger.
When you're the new guy with a license to kill, a few introductions are in order.
His name is Daniel Craig, and on Friday he hopes to make a killing of another sort at the box office as the latest Bond in "Casino Royale."
By the way, he didn't say The Line until the day came for him to put it on celluloid. "Never, never, never," he says "I didn't want to get to the day of filming and go, 'Oh God, I have to say the line. It's the big line. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I didn't want to make it overly important."
Craig is not only the newest Bond but also is turning out to be the most controversial.
"It's even confusing to me," Craig says with a laugh. "I heard all the rumors about myself, but I just stuck my head down and did a job."
"He's not a pretty-boy Bond," says director Martin Campbell. "He's rugged and much more [Sean] Connery than other Bonds. There is a bit of a gulp where you say, 'If I screw this up, we're going to be buried alive.' "
The 38-year-old British actor -- who is following in the footsteps of Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan -- is the sixth James Bond and the one who has had the hardest birth as a 007. There was even an anti-Craig Internet campaign that called for him to dye his hair. Some hard-core fans, it seems, can only accept a dark-haired spy.
The actor didn't reach for the Clairol, but he did reach for the DVD player.
"I watched every Bond film four times," Craig says. "But then I let it all go flying right out of my head. Why make this movie unless you really want to do something different with the role? That would be the biggest waste of time in the world. I think it's time to take Bond into the next century."
For those of us who can't take too much change, M (Judi Dench) is back to get a bit testy with the young 007 who has just received his official title. (He had to do two good kills to get the promotion, we learn).
The $150 million film was shot all over the world and has all the requisite Bond stunts. You'll see him jump off a crane hanging over the ocean, survive a terrifying car crash and drive a bomb-carrying fuel tank across an airport tarmac. He swims. He shoots. He even survives a heart attack and a caning of his private parts while sitting naked on a rattan chair with its seat cut out. A woman saves his life twice -- and we don't just mean between the sheets.
MGM has insisted they considered "just about every actor in the world" for the new Bond, including Clive Owen and Hugh Jackman.
Craig was surprised to get the call. "I love the movies," he says. "If there is a Sunday afternoon and it's raining, I'll watch a Bond movie. I've been a fan as much as one can be."
Craig did a screen test, then tried to put the whole thing out of his mind. He was filming an upcoming Nicole Kidman horror film called "The Visiting" in Baltimore when he got a call saying he needed to go for a few tux fittings.
He was still a bit nervous.
"I sat down and made a pro and con list. It's what you do with a situation like this -- although not that many situations like this come along in life."
The notoriously private actor knew his life would change forever.
"I will lose some of that privacy, but I must take it," he says. "There are huge positives here."
Craig, 38, was born in Cheshire, England, and cut his acting teeth on the British stage. He paid the rent working as a waiter while touring with different shows in Spain and Moscow. He also studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ewan McGregor and Joseph Fiennes.
"I started young," he says. "I had a desire to act, but it wasn't always conscious. I was distracted by girls and pubs. My mother was tearing her hair out a little bit. But I got it together eventually."
He didn't struggle in the typical ways.
"I got paid peanuts in the beginning," he says. "I was 21 and spent it as quickly as I could. I never had that hard a time. I did all the jobs to feed myself and pay the rent. Other people have it way harder. I'm very blessed."
He made his screen debut in "The Power of One" (1992). He has also done roles in "Obsession" (1997), "Elizabeth" (1998), "I Dreamed of Africa" (2000) and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001). Craig then landed a splashier role as Connor Rooney in "Road to Perdition" (2002), and went on to play Ted Hughes (2003) opposite Gwyneth Paltrow as Sylvia Plath in "Sylvia." Then came "Layer Cake" (2004) and "Munich" (2005). He currently plays Perry Smith in "Infamous."
Craig is divorced from Scottish actress Fiona Loudon and the father of Ella, 14.
"My family is great," he says. "Their support is immeasurable," he says. "Now my mum is saying, 'I told you so.' "
He even got a nod from a former 007.
"Pierce Brosnan has been wonderful and supportive," Craig says. "I've spoken to him a number of times.
"I know him, and I sat down at the BAFTAS last year and said, 'Look, I want to be truthful and open with you.' He said, 'Go for it.' I couldn't thank him enough."
Craig still lives in England and dates American producer Satsuki Mitchell.
Is it bad for the Bond image that The Handsome One doesn't have a new lady on his arm every night?
"It's not bad for me," he says. "I'm very happily partnered with someone. As far as I'm concerned, it's not bad for the Bond image. ... I don't give my new so-called sex symbol image much thought. I've been a sex symbol before. I guess I'm an old sex symbol now."
[line]
Bond ambition
November 12, 2006
BY CINDY PEARLMAN
The man lies on concrete steps withering in pain from a gunshot wound to his leg. He looks behind him and sees a cool-eyed blond hunk holding a rather large gun to his heart. It will probably be the last thing the man sees before he meets his maker.
"Who ... who ... are you?" the dying man gasps.
"Bond. James Bond," says the guy with his finger on the trigger.
When you're the new guy with a license to kill, a few introductions are in order.
His name is Daniel Craig, and on Friday he hopes to make a killing of another sort at the box office as the latest Bond in "Casino Royale."
By the way, he didn't say The Line until the day came for him to put it on celluloid. "Never, never, never," he says "I didn't want to get to the day of filming and go, 'Oh God, I have to say the line. It's the big line. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I didn't want to make it overly important."
Craig is not only the newest Bond but also is turning out to be the most controversial.
"It's even confusing to me," Craig says with a laugh. "I heard all the rumors about myself, but I just stuck my head down and did a job."
"He's not a pretty-boy Bond," says director Martin Campbell. "He's rugged and much more [Sean] Connery than other Bonds. There is a bit of a gulp where you say, 'If I screw this up, we're going to be buried alive.' "
The 38-year-old British actor -- who is following in the footsteps of Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan -- is the sixth James Bond and the one who has had the hardest birth as a 007. There was even an anti-Craig Internet campaign that called for him to dye his hair. Some hard-core fans, it seems, can only accept a dark-haired spy.
The actor didn't reach for the Clairol, but he did reach for the DVD player.
"I watched every Bond film four times," Craig says. "But then I let it all go flying right out of my head. Why make this movie unless you really want to do something different with the role? That would be the biggest waste of time in the world. I think it's time to take Bond into the next century."
For those of us who can't take too much change, M (Judi Dench) is back to get a bit testy with the young 007 who has just received his official title. (He had to do two good kills to get the promotion, we learn).
The $150 million film was shot all over the world and has all the requisite Bond stunts. You'll see him jump off a crane hanging over the ocean, survive a terrifying car crash and drive a bomb-carrying fuel tank across an airport tarmac. He swims. He shoots. He even survives a heart attack and a caning of his private parts while sitting naked on a rattan chair with its seat cut out. A woman saves his life twice -- and we don't just mean between the sheets.
MGM has insisted they considered "just about every actor in the world" for the new Bond, including Clive Owen and Hugh Jackman.
Craig was surprised to get the call. "I love the movies," he says. "If there is a Sunday afternoon and it's raining, I'll watch a Bond movie. I've been a fan as much as one can be."
Craig did a screen test, then tried to put the whole thing out of his mind. He was filming an upcoming Nicole Kidman horror film called "The Visiting" in Baltimore when he got a call saying he needed to go for a few tux fittings.
He was still a bit nervous.
"I sat down and made a pro and con list. It's what you do with a situation like this -- although not that many situations like this come along in life."
The notoriously private actor knew his life would change forever.
"I will lose some of that privacy, but I must take it," he says. "There are huge positives here."
Craig, 38, was born in Cheshire, England, and cut his acting teeth on the British stage. He paid the rent working as a waiter while touring with different shows in Spain and Moscow. He also studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ewan McGregor and Joseph Fiennes.
"I started young," he says. "I had a desire to act, but it wasn't always conscious. I was distracted by girls and pubs. My mother was tearing her hair out a little bit. But I got it together eventually."
He didn't struggle in the typical ways.
"I got paid peanuts in the beginning," he says. "I was 21 and spent it as quickly as I could. I never had that hard a time. I did all the jobs to feed myself and pay the rent. Other people have it way harder. I'm very blessed."
He made his screen debut in "The Power of One" (1992). He has also done roles in "Obsession" (1997), "Elizabeth" (1998), "I Dreamed of Africa" (2000) and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001). Craig then landed a splashier role as Connor Rooney in "Road to Perdition" (2002), and went on to play Ted Hughes (2003) opposite Gwyneth Paltrow as Sylvia Plath in "Sylvia." Then came "Layer Cake" (2004) and "Munich" (2005). He currently plays Perry Smith in "Infamous."
Craig is divorced from Scottish actress Fiona Loudon and the father of Ella, 14.
"My family is great," he says. "Their support is immeasurable," he says. "Now my mum is saying, 'I told you so.' "
He even got a nod from a former 007.
"Pierce Brosnan has been wonderful and supportive," Craig says. "I've spoken to him a number of times.
"I know him, and I sat down at the BAFTAS last year and said, 'Look, I want to be truthful and open with you.' He said, 'Go for it.' I couldn't thank him enough."
Craig still lives in England and dates American producer Satsuki Mitchell.
Is it bad for the Bond image that The Handsome One doesn't have a new lady on his arm every night?
"It's not bad for me," he says. "I'm very happily partnered with someone. As far as I'm concerned, it's not bad for the Bond image. ... I don't give my new so-called sex symbol image much thought. I've been a sex symbol before. I guess I'm an old sex symbol now."
Comments
It's getting quite near, now
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
No probs - I'll move it for you.