New Bond to be 'tougher, grittier and more realistic'

By Anna Tomforde Oct 14, 2005, 18:02 GMT

English actor Daniel Craig who was today revealed as the new 007 James Bond at a launching in London. EPA/HANDOUT

London - The blond, blue-eyed British actor Daniel Craig arrived by Royal Marines speedboat at a press conference in London Friday to announce he is the new James Bond.

Pointing with embarrassment to the life jacket he was forced to wear on his trip down the Thames River, and visibly overwhelmed by the attention, the new 007 told journalists: 'It's something else. I'm speechless at the moment.'

The 37-year-old actor, star of the gangster film 'Layer Cake', admitted he was nervous about the new role.

He will become the sixth actor to play the secret agent, after Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton.

'I've just got to step up to the plate and deal with it,' he said, posing for photographers on the gangplank of Her Majesty's Ship - 'HMS President' - with his arms around producer Barbara Broccoli.

Admittedly, Craig does not easily comply with the conventional image of Ian Fleming's public school-educated creation, who had 'a full head of black hair that fell across the brow like a 'dark comma''.

The new James Bond is a blond-haired, modern lad from Chester (northern Britain), who left state school at 16 and had to be forced to audition for his first school play.

'It's not a question of redefining, but taking it somewhere it's never gone before,' Craig said about his new role.

It will be a life-changing departure, his excited mother has already announced.

Production of 'Casino Royale' is due to start in January, with shoots in the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Italy and Britain.

'It will be tougher, grittier and more realistic,' director Martin Campbell promised.

Craig's build and height of 1.83 metres was important in his selection from 200 possible candidates, including such big names as Hugh Grant, Clive Owen, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Ewan McGregor, Heath Ledger and Eric Bana.

'Eric Bana was deemed not handsome enough, and Ewan McGregor too short,' said a secret memo, according to the Times.

Critics who queried Craig's hairline should note that Sean Connery required a toupee to hide his bald patch, Roger Moore thickened his hair and Pierce Brosnan needed to restore his hairline in the last two Bond films, the paper added.

Craig's first major role was in the BBC drama 'Our Friends in the North' in 1996. His first major Hollywood role came when he starred alongside Tom Hanks in 'Road to Perdition' in 2002. He later playing poet Ted Hughes opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and is to appear in Steven Spielberg's new drama 'Munich' on the 1972 Olympic Massacre.

To be James Bond is a career-boosting move for Craig, who has played everything from a racist South African policeman to a royal courtier.

The son of a merchant seaman and a school teacher, Craig was born in Chester in 1968 and brought up in Liverpool. His parents divorced when he was six.

He left school at 16 to join the National Youth Theatre and was accepted at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he met McGregor, Joseph Fiennes and Alistair McGowan.

Craig is known to leave women shaken and stirred. Just a few days ago, he made headlines for a reported fling with Sienna Miller, and last year enjoyed a romance with supermodel Kate Moss.

Former 'Tomb Raider' co-star Angelina Jolie has praised him as 'one of the best kissers'.

'Daniel was always smiling, and he was always popular with the girls. I'm sure he'll be the best Bond yet,' said Brenda Davies, his former drama teacher.