Rise to Fame
When the Bond producers announced Craig as the sixth 007 in 2005, the internet had opinions. Fan campaigns threatened boycotts, petitions circulated, and the tabloids ran with 'Blond Bond' for months. None of it mattered. Casino Royale (2006) stripped the franchise back to its bruiser origins, and Craig fit that version exactly. Martin Campbell cast him after seeing Layer Cake (2004), where Craig played a London drug dealer with enough coiled menace to suggest he could hold an entire franchise together. He could.
In the Spotlight
After No Time to Die (2021) wrapped his Bond tenure, Craig made a sharp turn toward work nobody expected from him. Queer (2024), Luca Guadagnino's adaptation of William S. Burroughs' novel, put him in 1950s Mexico City as a drug-addicted expat pursuing a younger man. Critics called him a "revelation." Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics' Choice nominations for Best Actor followed. The Knives Out franchise keeps him commercially viable too - Wake Up Dead Man hit theaters in November 2025 and arrived on Netflix in December, after Craig had publicly pushed for a wider theatrical window.
Side Notes
He failed his Guildhall auditions repeatedly before finally getting accepted in 1988. He moved to London at 16 and worked restaurant jobs to pay for drama school, years before anyone knew his name. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II appointed him Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George - CMG - the same fictional honor carried by James Bond in Fleming's novels. He's also said his daughter with Rachel Weisz has made him far more selective about which projects keep him away from home.