BOND

more rough-hewn than his predecessors (who, besides Connery, include George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, who publicly said that leaving wasn't his idea), Craig was an actor first and foremost, in films like "Sylvia," "Road to Perdition," "Munich" and this year's "Infamous."
In fact, when he last spoke with the New York Daily News about Bond, in spring 2005, it was with trepidation. His British gangster film "Layer Cake" was opening, and his name had just been floated as a possible choice by Broccoli and her half brother, Michael Wilson, who've guided the franchise since her father, series co-founder Albert R. (Cubby) Broccoli, died in 1996.
"Since I was a kid on the playground, I'd [imagined] playing Bond," Craig said then. "I'd have to think about it seriously." But could he turn it down? "Ah, but I could, mate -- I could," he mused.
Comparison
Flash-forward to the present day, and Craig -- who, at 38, is six years older than Connery was when he began playing the character -- is getting credit for indeed making Bond more serious. Certainly, Craig's Liverpool-bred accent and gritty manner (despite some time spent at London's National Youth Theatre) are markedly different from Brosnan's more patrician portrayal in four films, from 1995's "GoldenEye" to 2002's "Die Another Day," the series' biggest box-office hit.
"I just didn't want to repeat anything that had gone before," says Craig. "But this was something I thought could be new and fresh. And I think they nailed it.
"Doing it from scratch was one of the appeals -- I now have the chance to set something up. But that doesn't mean 'Casino Royale' doesn't seem like Bond. I want people to see this and say, 'This is a Bond movie; all the boxes are ticked.'
"I watched every moment of every movie avidly and sort of checked what was done wrong or what was done right. But then you kind of have to move on."