Casino Royale at 20: How Daniel Craig Proved Everyone Wrong as James Bond
24 years ago, the Bond franchise was perhaps at the highest point in its illustrious history since its inception in 1962.
Incumbent 007 Pierce Brosnan's latest film, Die Another Day, became the biggest ever and was released to tie into Bond's 40th anniversary on-screen. But, behind the scenes, changes were afoot.
Despite Die Another Day grossing $432 million worldwide, the franchise was in flux. And, in the years before, rights owner EON finally secured the rights to the original Bond book, Casino Royale, from Sony Pictures in exchange for the rights to Spider-Man, ironically also released in 2002. So what to do: press ahead with a fifth Brosnan film, or use it as the perfect opportunity to make Ian Fleming’s first novel properly and reboot the franchise?
Rebooting 007
Rebooting the world’s most beloved franchise at a time when it was at its box-office peak was risky, not least because it would take Bond back to his origins, something never seen on-screen before. Indeed, it was a Herculean task to get it right, especially in a cinema landscape that had just seen The Bourne Identity, Austin Powers, and Batman Begins change the playing field in a multitude of ways. Most importantly, finding the perfect actor to portray the raw 007 was a big test for the producers.
Clive Owen, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Ewan McGregor were linked; Michael Fassbender, Henry Cavill, and Sam Worthington screen-tested, but producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson had a target in mind all along: Daniel Craig.
Craig was an unorthodox choice. Fans immediately went online to share their anger at the casting, even setting up some websites: DanielCraigIsNotBond.com and BlondNotBond.com. Brosnan fit the established image almost perfectly; Craig did not. He was shorter, blonde (“James Blonde” filled the tabloids), more rugged, and was seen as too serious. No one thought he was fit to clean Brosnan’s shoes, let alone fill them. Almost immediately after his casting in October 2005, fans called for boycotts of Casino Royale.
But little did anyone know what Casino Royale would be: not just a reset, but a darker, truer adaptation of the Bond that Fleming created.
Daniel Craig, the Unorthodox Bond
Another, arguably more important, concern was what the producers planned to do with Bond. Colder, tougher and more psychologically complicated, this was Bond before he had eared 00 status; he was as jagged as an agent as Craig’s look was in playing him. For this, Craig was perfect. And proved it.
Even director Martin Campbell, returning to the series after directing 1995’s GoldenEye (ironically, Brosnan's Bond debut) had reservations about Craig as Bond. Still, once he saw where the film was headed, he was the only choice.
Campbell said: "My only reticence with Daniel… he was really a superb actor, there's no doubt about that… it was the fact that with people like Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan was that they were all traditional-looking Bonds. All handsome guys, all sexy, all very attractive to women and so forth.
"Daniel was obviously tougher and more rugged, but he wasn't a traditional handsome guy. So I just thought about that for a minute, and apart from that, absolutely it was always him.”
Barbara Broccoli said on the backlash: “It was brutal… It was pretty crazy when they were saying ‘Blonde Bond’ and all this when Roger Moore was blonde. I just couldn’t follow the logic, but anyway. Daniel’s been stupendous, and it just feels so great to be celebrating him now."
Craig felt that backlash, too, but all he could do now that he had the role was knuckle down, train for the role and do the job he was hired to do.
He said: "Of course I was bothered by it... But there was nothing I could really do. It's like [the saying goes], 'Control the things that you can control.' All I could do was make a good movie, or attempt to make a good movie and say, 'There you go.' And if they didn't like it, then I don't know, that's all I had to give."
The rest, as they say, is history. And the irony? Everything that was initially regarded as weaknesses became defining characteristics of the new Bond.
Casino Royale Redefined Bond for the Modern Era
All those features helped distinguish Craig from those who had gone before him and, more importantly, he brought a physicality to 007 that made him feel much more dangerous.
This Bond was vulnerable and that is perhaps the greatest strength of Craig’s version: he could be hurt, frightened, and actually get exhausted from all that was asked of him, the burden and consequences of being Bond. His armour is stripped away, the tuxedo gone, with the man underneath front and centre. He does human things: falls in love, makes mistakes, gets betrayed, and more. He isn’t just effortlessly cool anymore; he is a man learning what it will take to be Britain’s best man for the job.
Indeed, the emotional damage and losses from Casino Royale echo through all of his time as Bond — Quantum of Solace was the first fully-fledged sequel in the franchise — and meant we got deeper into his psyche as to why he does this job, as well as real continuity and consequences for the character. In trying to move away from tradition, Craig helped create a new one — and has changed Bond forever.
Ironically, the new producers at Amazon MGM Studios find themselves in a similar situation right now: they have to reboot Bond. With director Denis Villeneuve and writer Steven Knight already handling the look and story for the new film, they now have to find their own 007. Could favourite Jack Lowden be monikered Ginger Bond? We await the official word...
