Daniel Craig, one of British theatre's most famous faces who was waiting tables as a struggling teenage actor with the NYT, is now starring as James Bond in Casino Royale.

He was born Daniel Wroughton Craig on March 2, 1968, at 41 Liverpool Road, Chester, Cheshire, England. His father, named Tim Craig, was a merchant seaman turned steel erector, then became landlord of 'Ring O' Bells' pub in Frodsham, Cheshire. His mother, named Carol Olivia Craig, was an art teacher. His parents split up in 1972, and young Daniel Craig was raised with his older sister, Lea, in Liverpool, then in Hoylake, Wirral, in the home of his mother. His interest in acting was encouraged by visits to the Liverpool Everyman Theatre arranged by his mother. From the age of 6, Craig started acting in school plays, and his mother, Carol, was the driving force behind his artistic aspirations. He was also a good athlete and was a rugby player at Hoylake Rugby Club.

At the age of 14 Craig played roles in 'Oliver', 'Romeo and Juliet', and 'Cinderella' at Hilbre High School in West Kirby, Wirral, UK. He left Hilbre High at 16 to audition at the National Youth Theatre's (NYT) troupe on their tour in Manchester in 1984. He was accepted and moved down to London. There his mother and father watched his stage debut as Agamemnon in Shakespeare's 'Troilus And Cressida'. As a struggling actor with the NYT, he was toiling in restaurant kitchens and as a waiter. Craig performed with NYT on tours to Valencia, Spain, and to Moscow, Russia, under the leadership of director Edward Wilson. He failed at repeated auditions at the Guildhall, but eventually his persistence paid off, and in 1988, he entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama at the Barbican. There he studied alongside Ewan McGregor and Alistair McGowan, then later Damian Lewis and Joseph Fiennes, among others. He graduated in 1991, after a three-year course under the tutelage of Colin McCormack, the actor from the Royal Shakespeare Company. From 1992-1994 he was married to Scottish actress Fiona Loudon, their daughter, named Ella, was born in 1992.

Daniel Craig made his film debut in The Power of One. His film career continued on television, notably the BBC2 serial 'Our Friends in the North' (1996). He shot to international fame after playing supporting roles in 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001) and Road to Perdition. He was nominated for his performances in the leading role in Layer Cake, and received other awards and nominations. Craig was named as the sixth actor to portray James Bond, in October of 2005, weeks after he finished his work in Munich, where he co-starred with Eric Bana under the directorship of Steven Spielberg.

Craig's reserved demeanor and his avoidance of the showbiz-party-red-carpet milieu makes him a cool 007. He is the first blonde actor to play Bond, and also the first to be born after the start of the film series, and also the first to be born after the death of the author Ian Fleming in 1964. Four of the past Bond actors: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan have indicated that Craig is a good choice as Bond.


Quantum of Solace (2008): £ 4,500,000
Casino Royale (2006): £ 2,000,000

Lived in London with German actress Heike Makatsch. [April 2001] 2000: Named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Promotion. One of the many actors considered to take over James Bond from Pierce Brosnan. He officially accepted the role in October, 2005. Father: Tim Craig Older sister: Lea Craig Visited Sarajevo Film Festival (in post-war Bosnia) in 2005. Was the only member of the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) cast to be a huge fan of the Tomb Raider video games. His favorite in the series was Tomb Raider II (1997) (VG), released in 1997. He's a fan of Liverpool Football Club. Appeared in Sharpe's Eagle (1993) (TV) with Sean Bean. Bean played the villain in GoldenEye (1995), which was directed by Martin Campbell, who also directed Casino Royale (2006). One of 115 people invited to join AMPAS in 2007. October 2007 - Signed on to play "James Bond" in four more films after Casino Royale (2006). Graduated from Guildhall of Music & Drama (London) in 1991. Between 2005 and 2008, Craig played militant Jewish soldiers or fighters three times in fairly quick succession: in Sorstalanság (2005) ("Fateless"), he plays an American soldier who identifies himself as Jewish while liberating a concentration camp; in Munich (2005), he plays the most militant member of a team of Mossad agents assigned to assassinate the terrorists responsible for killing Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics; and in Defiance (2008/I), he plays one of three Jewish brothers who escape from Nazi-occupied Poland to join the resistance. Is a big fan of Robert Altman films. Became good friends with Nicole Kidman, after they worked together on The Invasion (2007), and The Golden Compass (2007). Was considered for the part of Doctor in Blindness (2008) but Mark Ruffalo was cast instead.