1992–2005: Early roles and breakthrough in June 2006, filming
Casino Royale Craig appeared in his first screen role in 1992, playing an
Afrikaner in
The Power of One. Having played minor roles in the
miniseries Anglo-Saxon Attitudes and the shows
Covington Cross and
Boon, he appeared in November 1993 as Joe in the
Royal National Theatre's production of
Tony Kushner's
Angels in America. Also in 1993, Craig was featured in two episodes of the American television shows
Zorro and
George Lucas's
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and British shows
Heartbeat, in which he played Peter Begg;
Between the Lines;
Drop the Dead Donkey and ''
Sharpe's Eagle. In 1994, Craig appeared in The Rover, a filmed stage production and Les Grandes Horizontales, a stage production at the National Theatre Studio, where he first met Rachel Weisz, who would become his second wife. Craig was featured in the poorly received Disney film A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995). In 1996, Craig starred in the BBC drama serial Our Friends in the North'' as the troubled George 'Geordie' Peacock. Appearing alongside
Christopher Eccleston,
Gina McKee and
Mark Strong, Craig's part in the series is considered his
breakthrough role. In the same year, Craig guest-starred in an episode of the
HBO horror anthology series
Tales from the Crypt and was featured in the BBC television film
Saint-Ex. Craig gave a lead performance in the Franco-German drama
Obsession in 1997, about a
love triangle between Craig's character and a couple. The same year, he played a leading role in
Hurlyburly, a play performed in the
West End at the
Old Vic. Craig appeared in three films in 1998: the independent drama
Love and Rage, the biographical drama
Elizabeth, in which he played
Jesuit priest
John Ballard, who was executed for being involved in the
Babington Plot, an attempt to
assassinate Queen
Elizabeth I of England, and the BBC television film
Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998), in which Craig played small-time thief George Dyer who becomes the lover and muse of painter
Francis Bacon, who was portrayed by
Derek Jacobi. The following year, Craig starred in a television drama called
Shockers: The Visitor and as
Sergeant Telford Winter in the independent war film
The Trench, which takes place in the confines of the
trenches in the
First World War during the 48 hours leading up to the
Battle of the Somme. Craig played a
schizophrenic man who falls in love with a woman (played by
Kelly Macdonald) after being discharged from
psychiatric hospital in the drama
Some Voices (2000). Also in 2000, Craig co-starred alongside
Toni Collette in the dark comedy
Hotel Splendide and was featured in
I Dreamed of Africa, based on the life of
Kuki Gallmann (played by
Kim Basinger). Craig played the love interest of
Angelina Jolie's character
Lara Croft in
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), based on the video game series
Tomb Raider. He later admitted to having taken on the role in the poorly-reviewed yet commercially successful film only for the money. In 2001, Craig also starred in the four-part
Channel 4 drama
Sword of Honour, based on the trilogy of
novels of the same. Craig appeared in the
anthology film Ten Minutes Older: The Cello (2002), starring in the segment "Addicted to the Stars", directed by
Michael Radford. His second release of 2002 was
Sam Mendes' crime film
Road to Perdition with
Tom Hanks and
Paul Newman, in which he played
Irish mobster Connor Rooney, the son of the crime organisation's boss. Craig then portrayed German
theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg in the BBC television drama
Copenhagen (2002), which depicts Heisenberg's involvement in the
German nuclear weapon project during
World War II. On stage, Craig starred opposite
Michael Gambon in the original production of
Caryl Churchill's play
A Number from September to November 2002 at the
Royal Court Theatre. Craig was nominated for a
London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his role as a man who is
cloned twice by his father. The next year, he starred as poet
Ted Hughes opposite
Gwyneth Paltrow as
Sylvia Plath in the biographical film
Sylvia (2003), which depicts the romance between the two poets. In the same year, he appeared in
The Mother as a man who engages in an affair with the much older mother (played by
Anne Reid) of his lover and best friend. The crime thriller
Layer Cake, directed by
Matthew Vaughn, starred Craig as an unnamed London-based
cocaine supplier known only as "XXXX" in the film's credits. Kevin Crust, writing for the
Los Angeles Times, praised Craig's "stunningly suave performance", while
Roger Ebert thought he was "fascinating" in the film. Craig next starred as a man who is
stalked by a stranger (played by
Rhys Ifans) after they witness a deadly accident together in
Enduring Love (2004). Craig appeared in three theatrical films in 2005, all of which were supporting roles. His first release of the year, was the thriller
The Jacket starring
Adrien Brody and
Keira Knightley. He then appeared briefly in the Hungarian film
Fateless as a
United States Army Sergeant who takes a liking to a teenage boy who survives life in
concentration camps. Craig's third and final role of the year was in
Munich, directed by
Steven Spielberg, as a South African driver who is a part of a
covert Israeli government mission to assassinate 11 Palestinians allegedly involved in the
Munich massacre at the
1972 Summer Olympics. Also in 2005, Craig starred in the BBC television film
Archangel – based on
Robert Harris'
novel – as an English academic who stumbles upon a notebook believed to have belonged to
Joseph Stalin.
2006–2021: James Bond and worldwide recognition '' film premiere in New York in November 2008 According to various sources, EON Productions had become aware of Craig and begun to consider him as a future Bond candidate because of
Our Friends in the North in 1996 or
Elizabeth in 1998. In 2004, Craig first met longtime Bond co-producer
Barbara Broccoli at the funeral of casting director
Mary Selway, who had cast Craig in
Love Is the Devil. He asked
Pierce Brosnan at an event for advice and Brosnan told him, "Go for it. Just go for it." Born in 1968, Craig is the first actor to portray
James Bond to have been born after the Bond series started and after the death of
Ian Fleming, the novels' writer. Craig's casting as Bond was controversial, due to his physical appearance. Some fans considered the
blond-haired, Craig to not fit the image of the taller, dark-haired Bond portrayed by the previous actors. Throughout the entire production period, Internet campaigns expressed their dissatisfaction and threatened to boycott the film in protest. Although the choice of Craig was controversial, numerous actors publicly voiced their support. Most notably, four of the five actors who had previously portrayed Bond –
Sean Connery,
Roger Moore,
Pierce Brosnan and
Timothy Dalton – believed his casting to be a good decision. Connery notably shared his thoughts on Craig's casting as Bond in 2008, describing him as "fantastic, marvelous in the part". The other actor to have previously played Bond,
George Lazenby, has also since voiced his approval of Craig.
Clive Owen, who had been linked to the role, also spoke in defence of Craig. Craig's debut as James Bond came with
Casino Royale, premiering on 14 November 2006 and grossing US$594,239,066 worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Bond film until the release of
Skyfall in 2012. Upon the film's release, Craig's performance received critical acclaim. Additionally, he lent his voice and likeness as James Bond to both the
Wii game
GoldenEye 007, an enhanced remake of the
1997 game for the
Nintendo 64, and
James Bond 007: Blood Stone. Craig appeared in two further films in 2006: the drama
Infamous as mass murderer
Perry Edward Smith and as the voice of the lead character in the English-language version of the French animated film
Renaissance. In 2006, Craig was invited to join the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Craig starred opposite
Nicole Kidman in the science fiction horror film
The Invasion in 2007, the fourth film adaptation of the novel
The Body Snatchers by
Jack Finney, which was met with a negative reception. He portrayed
Lord Asriel in
The Golden Compass, the 2007 film adaptation of
Philip Pullman's novel. In March 2007, Craig made a cameo appearance as himself in a sketch with
Catherine Tate who appeared in the guise of her character
Elaine Figgis from
The Catherine Tate Show. The sketch was made for the BBC
Red Nose Day 2007 fundraising programme. In 2008, in addition to
Quantum of Solace and its accompanying
video game, Craig starred in the drama
Flashbacks of a Fool alongside
Emilia Fox, as a washed-up Hollywood actor who reflects on his life; although the film was received negatively, Craig's performance was praised. In his final release of 2008, the war film
Defiance, Craig starred as
Tuvia Bielski, the leader of the
Bielski partisans, fighting in the forests of
Belarus during
World War II, saving 1,200 people. in London He co-starred with
Hugh Jackman in a limited engagement of the drama
A Steady Rain, on Broadway, which played in autumn 2009 at the
Schoenfeld Theatre, for which he gained positive reviews. In 2011, Craig starred as investigative journalist
Mikael Blomkvist in
David Fincher's
2011 adaptation of
Stieg Larsson's novel
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The next year, he took up a leading role in
Dream House, a
psychological thriller directed by
Jim Sheridan and co-starring
Rachel Weisz,
Naomi Watts and
Marton Csokas. It garnered mostly negative reviews and low box office results. Craig then co-starred with
Harrison Ford and
Olivia Wilde in
Cowboys & Aliens, an American
science fiction Western film, based on
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's 2006
graphic novel of the same name. The same year, Craig voiced a
dual role in Steven Spielberg's animated film
The Adventures of Tintin in 2011, playing both the villainous pirate
Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine and his ancestor
Red Rackham. The planned 19 April 2010 release of Craig's third Bond film was delayed because of financial troubles; the film, titled
Skyfall, was eventually released on 23 October 2012. The same year, he appeared as James Bond in the short film
Happy and Glorious, in which he escorted
Queen Elizabeth II to the
2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. He and his wife Weisz starred in a
Broadway play titled
Betrayal, which ran from October 2013 to January 2014. Despite mixed reviews, it grossed $17.5 million, becoming the second highest earning Broadway play of 2013. Craig's fourth Bond film,
Spectre, began filming in December 2014 and was released on 26 October 2015. His first four Bond films have grossed $3.5 billion globally, after adjusting for
inflation. Prior to the inaugural
Invictus Games held in London in September 2014, Craig, along with other entertainers and athletes, read the poem "
Invictus" in a promotional video. In 2015, he had an uncredited cameo as a
stormtrooper in
Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Craig appeared in a modern production of
William Shakespeare's tragedy
Othello at the
Off-Broadway New York Theatre Workshop throughout late 2016 and early 2017. The production starred
David Oyelowo as the
titular character and Craig as the main
antagonist,
Iago. Diane Snyder of
The Daily Telegraph praised his "chilling" portrayal of Iago in the play. Craig starred alongside
Halle Berry in the drama
Kings set during the
1992 Los Angeles riots. The film premiered in September 2017 and was distributed by
the Orchard the following year. In 2019, Craig starred in
Rian Johnson's black comedy murder-mystery
Knives Out as Benoit Blanc, a detective investigating the sudden death of a family patriarch. It premiered at the
2019 Toronto International Film Festival, and was theatrically released that November.
Knives Out earned critical praise and found success at the box office. He earned a
Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance. After delays due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Craig's fifth and final Bond film,
No Time to Die, was released in September 2021 and received favourable reviews. Craig says
No Time to Die was his last film as James Bond. Two days before the film's release in the US, Craig was awarded a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame which is located at 7007
Hollywood Boulevard (referring to Bond's code number "007"), and next to the star of fellow Bond actor
Roger Moore.
2022–present: Post-Bond work In 2022, Craig starred in a contemporary revival of
Macbeth opposite
Ruth Negga on
Broadway.
Variety described his performance writing "Craig has some strong moments but does not capture the transformation of Macbeth into a power-hungry tyrant."
The Guardian Alexis Soloski rated the production 3/5, stating, "... Craig's burly Macbeth, clad handsomely in Suttirat Larlab's modern dress costumes, is every inch a man of action and a soldier, even in a silky bathrobe, entirely convincing in motion, less persuasive when zipping through Macbeth's equivocations." Craig also starred in
Glass Onion, a sequel to
Knives Out directed by Johnson. In 2024, he starred as William Lee in
Luca Guadagnino's
adaptation of
William S. Burroughs novel
Queer. The film premiered at the
81st Venice International Film Festival. Craig's performance was praised by critics. Craig stated "The reason I wanted to get into cinema was because of movies like this. ... Scripts don't come around like this very often, directors don't come around like this very often. I didn't know what the end result would be, but I knew the journey was going to be something else. And that's really what appealed to me, to be working with such a wonderful person, the most creative and exciting people." Craig next starred in a third Benoit Blanc film titled
Wake Up Dead Man, with Johnson directing again. == Charity and humanitarian work ==