Thanks to the critical success of "Casino Royale" and the box office domination of "Skyfall" (we're omitting "Quantum of Solace" from our memories), Daniel Craig is now considered one of the best James Bonds in recent memory. But when he was first cast back in the mid-2000s fans were skeptical and downright negative about the move.
As it turns out, so was "Skyfall" and "Spectre" director Sam Mendes, but for a different reason.
In an interview with The BBC, Mendes reflects on his initial opinion about Craig's casting.
"I had cast Daniel Craig in this film I made in Chicago called Road to Perdition about 15 years ago, and it was his first big American film. The role of Bond came up four or five years later and I was called by Entertainment Weekly, a showbiz publication, and they said 'your old friend and collaborator Daniel Craig has been suggested as Bond, what do you think?' and I said 'terrible idea - he shouldn't do it.' For me at the time I thought Bond had become the opposite of what Daniel is - a slightly disengaged, urbane jokey eyebrow-raising, you know, a pastiche in a way, and I felt Daniel's reality and his passion and honesty as an actor would not work."
Mendes accurately felt that the Bond character had become almost a caricature of itself following several disappointing films in the series. While Pierce Brosnan was a quality choice for Bond, the films he was put in (aside from "GoldenEye") cast the franchise into a tailspin of ridiculousness.
However, 2006's "Casino Royale" changed all that, with Craig brining an element of grounded seriousness to the role. The film was a gritty, action-packed repackaging of the tried and true Bond formula and it proved successful. "Skyfall" continued that success in a big way by becoming the first Bond film to cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
Mendes has said that "Spectre" will be his last 007 film. Here's to hoping the next director in charge will be able to keep the ball rolling.
