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| James Bond |
Licensed to kill - Oct
13 2005
The Daily Post reports
He left school at 16, but now he's being billed as the new James Bond. Sam Lister reports.
He's Suave, he's debonair,
he's the world's favourite spy - and this time round he's from Wirral.
The next 007 has been picked and according to industry insiders
it's Hoylake actor Daniel Craig.
The first blond Bond in the film series' history has been a favourite
of the producer Barbara Broccoli since she began the search for Pierce Brosnan's replacement earlier this year.
An official announcement is expected later this week but Craig's
mother Carol Olivia, who still lives in the west Wirral town, was struggling to keep the secret.
Last night she told the Liverpool Daily Post: "Obviously
we are thrilled to bits.
"It has come at a very good time in his career. He has worked extremely hard all his life and
this would be his biggest populist role.
"I think he could bring something very interesting to the part. It will be life-changing."
Craig was born in Chester but grew up in Hoylake where he went to Hilbre High School and fleetingly attended Calday Grange before dropping out and heading to London at 16.
On his third attempt he got into Guildhall drama college, where
his contemporaries included Ralph Fiennes and Ewan McGregor. He has worked steadily ever since and has earned a reputation
as a serious actor for his theatre work.
His first major role was on the small screen playing Geordie Peacock in the gritty
drama Our Friends In The North.
He went on to be cast as Paul Newman's vengeful son in the Sam Mendes
movie Road To Perdition and later appeared in the Morgan Freeman film The Power Of One
DANIEL CRAIG BIOGRAPHY
Born: 11 November 1968
Where:
Chester, England
Awards: No major awards yet
Height: 6'
Filmography: Complete ListThe world is full of what ifs, what might have beens. Where
would we be now if we'd been braver, more loyal to our dreams? Would we be richer? More famous? Happier? Daniel Craig is a fine modern example of how things can turn out for the best. After
the uproarious success of the series Our Friends In The North, he was cast by the tabloids as tough northern totty. Stereotyping
TV offers came flooding in, lifestyle magazines were constantly knocking at his door. At the very least, he was all set to
be the next Jimmy Nail.
Instead, loathing this trivial publicity, he turned down the offers and
walked away. With his eyes set on a more glittering prize, he honed his craft in a series of art-house and European productions,
entering the mainstream only when a part demanded deep emotional exploration. And eventually, inevitably, his remarkable intensity
saw him recognised at the highest levels. First Sam Mendes snapped him up to star alongside Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in Road To Perdition. Then it was the turn of Steven Spielberg. And then came James Bond. Craig's earlier, risky choice bore rich fruit,
indeed.
He was born Daniel Wroughton Craig on the 11th of November, 1968, in Chester. His father, Tim, was a former
merchant seaman turned steel erector, while his mother, Olivia, was a teacher. He had one sister, Lea, older than himself.
Olivia had attended Liverpool Art College and won a place at RADA (which she didn't take up), and it was this background that
most influenced Daniel after his parents divorced, Olivia taking him and Lea to live in central Liverpool when he was just
4. His mother spent a lot of time at the city's famously left-wing Everyman Theatre, then in its heyday with Bernard Hill,
Julie Walters, Willy Russell and Alan Bleasdale strutting their stuff. The young boy
would soak in the life onstage and in the Green Room, enjoying the larger-than-life camaraderie. It was this, and seeing these
familiar faces on TV, that convinced Craig that he too would become an actor. He now claims this epiphany took place when
he was just
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