Daniel Craig

1968-present

Daniel Craig is a British actor who is best known for his portrayal of James Bond in five installments of the spy franchise. Craig pursued acting at an early age, leaving school at age 16 to join London's National Youth Theatre. Following his big screen debut in 1992's The Power of One, the actor featured in the BAFTA-winning BBC miniseries Our Friends in the North and went on to roles in films like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Road to Perdition. Craig also worked with director Steven Spielberg on Munich and in 2006 was seen as James Bond in Casino Royale, reinvigorating the franchise. He returned as Bond for the blockbusters Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre, while starring in other major features like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Logan Lucky.

FULL NAME: Daniel Wroughton Craig
BORN: March 2, 1968
BIRTHPLACE: Chester, Cheshire, England
SPOUSES: Fiona Loudon (1992-1994) and Rachel Weisz (2011-present)
CHILDREN: Ella and Grace
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces

Daniel Wroughton Craig was born on March 2, 1968, in Chester, Cheshire England. His mother, Carol Olivia Craig, was an art teacher, and his father, Timothy Craig, worked as a midshipman in the Merchant Navy and as a steel erector before becoming a pub landlord. After their divorce in 1972, Craig moved to Liverpool with his mother and older sister, Lea. It was there that he first felt drawn to acting. “Mum took my sister and me to the theater all the time. I kind of fell in love with the idea of acting because she knew actors,” he recalled to Interview magazine in July 2011. “I liked the idea of it—you know, shouting a lot and dressing up and all that.” Craig began acting at an early age, making his stage debut in the musical Oliver! at Frodsham Primary School at just 6 years old.

Throughout his childhood, he continued to star in school productions and even played rugby for Hilbre High School and Hoylake RFC. In 1984, the young actor moved to London at age 16 to join the National Youth Theatre, where he appeared in William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida. Four years later, he was accepted into the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. By the time Craig graduated in 1991, he had already been cast in his film debut The Power of One, a 1950s drama set in South Africa, which came out the following year. He soon returned to the stage in a 1993 production of Angels in America at the Royal National Theatre.

Our Friends in the North and Love Is the Devil

After co-starring with Kate Winslet is the 1995 Disney movie A Kid in King Arthur's Court, Craig's career received a substantial boost when he landed his breakout role in the 1996 BBC miniseries Our Friends in the North. The drama enjoyed great critical reception and won several major awards in the year following its broadcast, including two British Academy Television Awards.

Another important role came in 1998 with the film Love Is the Devil, a biopic about the artist Francis Bacon (played by Derek Jacobi). Craig co-starred as Bacon's lover George Dyer, a small-time thief. Craig later described the project as “the first film I did that ‘made me.’” That same year, Craig had a small role in the historical drama Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

In 2001, Craig appeared as the romantic interest to Angelina Jolie's character in the action film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, based on the popular video game. Although the film was panned by reviewers, it was a hit with viewers—Tomb Raider debuted at No.1 at the box office and became the highest-grossing video game adaptation to date.

Road to Perdition and Sylvia

Craig next gave an impressive performance in 2002's Road to Perdition, adapted from the popular graphic novel of the same name. Craig played Connor Rooney, the murderous son of a mob boss (Paul Newman). The actor's standout performance was lauded by critics and fans alike. He then demonstrated his range when he portrayed poet Ted Hughes in the drama Sylvia (2003), which also starred Gwyneth Paltrow. The film explored the life of Hughes' wife, poet Sylvia Plath, and the couple's troubled relationship.

Layer Cake and Munich

Craig made his debut as a leading man in the 2005 crime drama Layer Cake, as an unnamed character—called XXXX in the credits—who seeks to retire from his criminal enterprise. That same year, the actor got a chance to work with famed director Steven Spielberg in the drama Munich (2005), playing an Israeli agent working on a team charged with tracking down those responsible for the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games.

James Bond Franchise

Around this time, rumors had begun to swirl about Craig becoming the next actor to play the role of legendary spy James Bond. Fans used to previous Bonds played by the likes of Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan objected to potentially having Craig in the part, arguing that he was too blond or too old. And film critics believed that, for a serious stage-trained actor like Craig, playing Bond would be an ill-advised move. But the actor believed it was a great opportunity, agreeing to a five-film contract. “When I accepted the job to work on Bond, I genuinely did it to change my life. I knew that it would flip everything on its head. ... I've never made movies for money—I've always made them because I truly wanted to do them,” he explained to Interview magazine.

Proving the skeptics wrong, Craig made Bond history with 2006's Casino Royale. He reinvigorated the long-running film franchise with his modern take on the super spy, described by one critic as “a noble thug.” Casino Royale became the highest-grossing Bond film to date, earning almost $600 million worldwide. Craig returned as 007 in the next installment, 2008's Quantum of Solace, a hit that was more modest in terms of its critical reception and box-office performance.

But 2012 saw the return of Bond in a major way with Skyfall, a Sam Mendes-helmed enterprise co-starring Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes and Judi Dench as M, a character who comes under intense intra-agency attack. The lauded project was a box-office phenomenon, making more than $1.1 billion internationally and setting earning records in various territories. The next Bond adventure, Spectre, again directed by Mendes and co-starring Christoph Waltz and Monica Bellucci, was released in autumn 2015. In the UK, Spectre set the record for being the country's highest grossing film within seven days of release; the previous record holder was Skyfall.

Following an extensive wait, with delays resulting from the departure of original director Danny Boyle and Craig's desire to be with his wife and newborn daughter, the 25th installment of the Bond franchise seemed to be inching closer to reality with the reveal of its title—No Time to Die—in August 2019. Along with the returning characters played by Harris, Whishaw and Fiennes, No Time to Die will feature Rami Malek, of Bohemian Rhapsody fame, as next to step up in the line of notorious Bond villains.

The Invasion and The Golden Compass

Craig continued pursuing other non-Bond film projects, including a co-starring role in the 2007 science-fiction thriller The Invasion, loosely based on the 1978 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In the film, Craig played a research scientist who helps psychiatrist Carrol Bennell (played by Nicole Kidman) unearth an alien conspiracy. Craig appeared with Kidman again in the 2007 fantasy film The Golden Compass.

Flashbacks of a Fool and Defiance

In 2008, Craig starred in Flashbacks of a Fool, a small indie drama directed by friend Baillie Walsh, as a middle-aged actor at the decline of his career. That same year, he joined Liev Schrieber and Jamie Bell in the Holocaust-based Defiance, the three playing Jewish brothers who fight back against the Nazis.

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and Cowboys & Aliens

Back on the big screen, Craig stared with Rooney Mara in 2011's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a David Fincher adaptation of the Swedish film based on Stieg Larsson's bestselling novel. That same year, Craig lent his voice to Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, based on the popular comic books, and also starred in Cowboys & Aliens as well as Dream House. In 2017, Craig surfaced in the thriller Logan Lucky, as safecracker Joe Bang, and co-starred with Halle Berry in Kings, a drama set around the time of the 1992 L.A. riots.

Knives Out Movies

Two years later, as his tenure as Bond neared its conclusion, the actor seized the opportunity to showcase a thick Southern accent and his comedic chops in the Rian Johnson whodunit Knives Out.

Returning to the stage, Craig made his Broadway debut in 2009's A Steady Rain, alongside Hugh Jackman. He later joined his wife, Rachel Weisz, for a 2013 adaptation of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, before earning praise in 2016 for his portrayal of the villainous Iago in a contemporary setting of Othello.

Once romantically linked to actress Sienna Miller and model Kate Moss, Craig dated producer Satsuki Mitchell for several years. He has a daughter, Ella, from his two-year marriage to Fiona Loudon. In December 2010, Craig began dating Rachel Weisz, his costar in Dream House. The couple married in June 2011 in New York, and later welcomed their daughter, Grace, in September 2018.

As of November 2025, Craig has an estimated net worth of $160 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He was the highest-paid actor in 2021 thanks to his $100 million deal to star in two Knives Out sequels.

• I always wanted to be an actor. I had the arrogance to believe I couldn't be anything else.
• Method actors suggest that you do sense memory exercises every time you do a scene. I use every method I can. Whatever works, I'll use.
  
• I think there's a lot to be said for keeping your own counsel. It's not about being afraid to be public with your emotions or about who you are and what you stand for. But if you sell it off it's gone. You can't buy it back—you can't buy your privacy back.
  
• When I accepted the job to work on Bond, I genuinely did it to change my life. I knew that it would flip everything on its head. ... I've never made movies for money—I've always made them because I truly wanted to do them.
  
• I go through life thinking it's all going to end tomorrow.
  

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