Anna Bowman is a senior English and telecommunications major and writes 'Film Annalysis' for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Anna at aabowman@bsu.edu.
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When you look at the many Bond films through the years, you start to notice a trend in the actors. They all play the same “martini—shaken, not stirred” guy with a gun and have the same two-dimensional love interests. Except for one: a man named Daniel Craig. So what makes his Bond so different? To prepare you for “Spectre,” which comes out Nov. 5, I’ve provided four ways Mr. Craig has broken the 007 mold:
1. He never really wanted the role. And why would he? He already had a great career to begin with, doing movies such as “Elizabeth,” “Obsession” and “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” (Okay, maybe not that last one.) Plus, taking such an epic role can make or break an actor's career. Yes, there’s Sean Connery—the man, the myth, the legend—but there’s also George Lazenby. Haven’t heard of him? Exactly. I think Craig’s reluctance to play such an epic role translates into the more broody James Bond that appears on-screen.
2. He co-produced “Spectre,” which is a feat no other Bond actor has ever accomplished. According to a recent article about “Spectre” in The Guardian, he took the role of producer very seriously and recruited Sam Mendes to be the director, having previously worked with him on “Road to Perdition” and “Skyfall.” With this control and ownership of the film, I think he will appear even more at ease in his role as the suave, cooler than cool Secret Service agent.
3. He explores Bond’s dark side. Before Craig came along, each Bond was the same car-racing, womanizing assassin every man wanted to be. In fact, most action protagonists before the Bourne trilogy fit this build. Craig had a vision though. In an interview with Parade magazine, Craig explained that he wanted to differentiate between being “the good guy” and “being a bad guy who works for the good side.” With this distinction, he made the role of Bond something darker and more complex than it had been before.
4. And let’s face it—he’s the only real actor to play the part. Sean Connery is entertaining, to be sure, but can we really say he, Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore would have won any awards for their performances? Probably not. Craig deserves this praise because he earned it: he started his career at the age of 16 by training at the National Youth Theatre in London and continued his education at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied for three years until graduating in 1991. He’s been in the Royal National Theatre’s productions, which is kind of a big deal too.
So really, any way you slice it, Daniel Craig is king and “Spectre” has all the ingredients to be the best Bond movie yet.
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