Daniel Craig: The 3 Billion Man<

Love stories usually end badly, says the song, business ones too, sometimes. Between Daniel Craig and James Bond, the relationship has been on the razor's edge several times, but it ends in apotheosis with Dying can wait, which is currently a hit in theaters. In all, the story will have lasted sixteen years, from the announcement of his recruitment in the service of Her Majesty, in 2005, to the release of this 25th part this fall. It will have been the longest maintained between an actor and the famous hero created by Ian Fleming, and also the most profitable.

However, when the English actor with the steely gaze and blond mane was recruited to play the most famous of British secret agents, he was not unanimous, far from it. We find him too small from the height of his 1.78 m, too blond, too muscular, some swear that he looks more Russian than British, even that he looks like a certain Vladimir Poutine! In short, for the fans, Craig is not classy or charismatic enough to wear the tuxedo. It must be said that the actor, 37 years old at the time, was not necessarily used to putting on one. His thing is more rugby and beer than fencing, golf and the Vodka Martini cocktail. Daniel Wroughton Craig was born on March 2, 1968 in Chester, Cheshire. He grew up in Frodsham, a small town near Liverpool, in a rather modest and particle-free environment, unlike his James Bond character. His father served in the merchant navy before running a pub, his mother was an art teacher. It was she who gave him the desire to become an actor by taking him to the theater for the first time. He was then only 6 years old, his parents had just divorced. Ten years later, he joined the National Youth Theater and moved to London when he was not yet of age. He goes on to perform and even performs on stage in Spain and Russia, during tours organized by his school. After several failures, he won his first Grail when he was accepted at the prestigious London Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1988. His promo partners were Ewan McGregor and Joseph Fiennes and, among the following, there were notably Damian Lewis and Orlando Bloom, excuse me a little. The one who has always been a dunce on the school benches turns into a hard worker passionate about love of the game. To finance his studies, he is a waiter, among other odd jobs. The legend even says that he was homeless for a time, sleeping on public benches in the parks of the English capital. True or false ? One thing is certain: after graduating in 1991, he ran the castings. The one who is not yet a handsome kid (see box) alternates TV movies, series and supporting roles in the cinema for ten years before obtaining a first international role in 2001, opposite Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft : Tomb Raider. If he clearly made this film adapted from a video game for the money, it will also bring him notoriety and roles in Hollywood. But Craig keeps a cool head.

He especially liked rugby and beer…

His career

2001: LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER It was thanks to this first blockbuster, in which he played the rival of Angelina Jolie, that the Englishman began to make himself known internationally.

2002: THE PATHS OF PERDITION This first collaboration with the director Sam Mendes allowed him to establish his visibility in Hollywood and to be approached for the role of Bond.

2006: CASINO ROYAL Craig may have been badly received by fans, but his first performance as 007 convinced both the public and the critics. It brings in more than 610 million euros.

2008: QUANTUM OF SOLACE This second part of Craig in the skin of Bond is less popular because the film relies more on the action scenes than on the quality of the script.

2011: MILLENNIUM: MEN WHO DIDN'T LIKE WOMEN In this noir whodunit by David Fincher, based on Stieg Larsson, Craig proves he can put his muscles away for a more psychological role.

2012: SKYFALL The film will please critics and fans alike. A great Bond, which is a hit at the box office and which will bring in almost 1 billion euros in revenue.

2015: SPECTER Sam Mendes is still at the controls of this part of the adventures of 007 which will bring in 785 million euros.

2019: KNIVES DRAWN This delightful detective comedy made 260 million euros in revenue in the USA. Craig will reprise his role as private detective Benoît Blanc in the sequel prepared by Netflix.

2021: DIE CAN WAIT After a release delayed by a year and a half due to the pandemic, this 25th installment of the James Bond saga is a hit in theaters.

There is life after James Bond…

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig clearly has a (big) weakness for actresses! He married Fiona Loudon in 1992 and they had a daughter, Ella, but they divorced two years later. He will then live a story with Heike Makatsch, a German actress met on the set of the film Berlin Niagara, before stealing Sienna Miller from his friend Jude Law, who had cheated on her, and she will soon fall back into his arms. Then he will have an affair with Kate Moss. Daniel consoles himself with producer Satsuki Mitchell. But, when he was to marry her, he left her for actress Rachel Weisz in 2010. They have been married for ten years and parents of a daughter since 2018.

His James Bond Girls

Fiona Loudon 1991-1994

Kate Moss 2004

Sienna Miller 2003

Heike Makatsch 1996-2004

Satsuki Mitchell 2004-2010

Rachel Weisz since 2010

He wants to disinherit his children!

Craig, the highest paid actor of 2021, has an estimated fortune of more than 130 million euros but his two children may not see it color. “I don't want to leave large sums to the next generation. I think inheritance is quite unpleasant. My philosophy is to get rid of it or give it away before you leave. Isn't there an old adage that if you die rich you've failed?” he told the Daily Mail last year. He has two daughters: Ella with Fiona Loudon, born in 1992, who follows in his footsteps in the cinema, and a three-year-old with an unknown first name, with Rachel Weisz.

Question of charisma, he started from afar…

No, Daniel Craig was not always the handsome boy with the chocolate bars and the look that made fans and women succumb. Before donning the tuxedo, the square-jawed man had several not-so-happy hair experiences and he wasn't the sexiest. Who said fame makes you beautiful?

When he was offered the role of James Bond in 2005, he refused at first, convinced that they wanted him to audition only to showcase other actors and that, plus, he'll get the role of yet another villain.

When he finally realizes that it's serious, he starts doing hours of gym, jogging and bodybuilding. Result: the one who was criticized even before putting on the tuxedo will gain ten kilos of muscle and become the most bankable Bond in history.

He will gain ten kilos of muscle

His performances in the 007 costume have brought in $3 billion so far, and he's made a pretty good fortune. In 2006, his first fee for Casino Royale was 2.8 million euros.

To Die can wait, it will be 21.5 million euros. It is this staggering sum that will convince him to put on the 007 costume one last time. In 2015, he had indeed declared in Time Out that he would rather cut his wrists than play James Bond again. Capricious and greedy, Mister Craig? Even if this reputation stuck with him for a long time, it's a little more complicated than that. On the one hand, the handsome boy has aged and he no longer necessarily wants to break his ankle, tear his shoulder muscles or ligaments, as happened to him during the often physical filming of the adventures of Jump. Rachel Weisz, the actress he married in 2011 in all discretion in front of two witnesses and their two respective children, Ella and Henry, is also tired of him performing his stunts himself and she does not deprive herself telling him for years. But, above all, the young dad of a 3-year-old girl struggles with the consequences of fame.

“I can no longer go to a pub to drink a Guinness and sing songs without some idiot filming it and putting it on the Internet”, he confides without jargon in Paris Match during the filming of Sky Fall. Totally absent from social networks, which he hates, he does the minimum in terms of selfies and autographs and runs away from fans altogether. Based in Brooklyn, he prefers family evenings to social events. Next spring, he will play Macbeth on Broadway and will thus be able to go home every evening. Happiness for this great homebody. And if the play does not work, he can always console himself with the 86 million dollars that he will pocket thanks to Netflix for the two sequels to the thriller At Knives Out. No doubt, at this price, retirement can wait… ¦

Who will succeed him?

Being 007 is a privilege! The producers of James Bond, including Barbara Broccoli, say they are giving themselves a year to think about designating Daniel Craig's successor. It is sworn: “James Bond will return”, we read at the end of the credits of Dying can wait. So, who will wear the tuxedo? Even if Lashana Lynch inherited the registration number in this last part, Daniel Craig is not necessarily for it. “Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a role as good as James Bond, but for a woman?” he said in an interview with Radio Times. So who ? Tom Hardy is a favorite even if some say he is too old. The handsome Regé-Jean Page is also one of the names that have come back since his success in La Chronique des Bridgerton, Idris Elba too, but many also say he is too old. Other names mentioned: Henry Cavill, the handsome boy from Superman and Justice League and the excellent Cillian Murphy, remarkable in the Peaky Blinders series. The bets are open !