Sylvia's Man

Background:

"I go through life thinking it's all going to end tomorrow." Daniel Craig British actor Daniel Craig was first noticed while portraying Alex West in Simon West' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001, opposite Angelina Jolie) and later gained more recognition for playing Poet Laureate Ted Hughes in the life-story film, Sylvia (2003, alongside Gwyneth Paltrow). Audiences can also watch him acting in Love Is The Devil: Study For A Portrait Of Francis Bacon (1998), Some Voices (2000), and more recent, Enduring Love (2004), The Mother (2004), and Layer Cake (2005).

Off screen, blue-eyed, 6' tall Craig has been romantically linked to German actress Heike Makatsch (born on August 13, 1971), with whom he lived with in London. Craig has denied the rumors saying that he has a special relationship with supermodel Kate Moss.

37-year-old Daniel Craig, who was listed as one of European films "Shooting Stars" by European Film Promotion in 2000, is currently making headlines. He draws public attention for the hyped up speculation that he would be the next James Bond, replacing Pierce Brosnan, in the upcoming Casino Royal.

"I don't believe in self-promotion, really I can't be arsed." Daniel Craig

Flying Phobia

Childhood and Family:

In Chester, England, Daniel Wroughton Craig was born on March 2, 1968, to Tim and Carol Craig. Along with his parents and sister Lia Craig, Daniel later spent his childhood in Liverpool, England. At age 16, he moved to London, England, where he honed in on his acting at the National Youth Theatre and later graduated from the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the early 1990s.

Daniel Craig is the father of a daughter who currently lives with his fellow actor ex-wife in London.

During his free time, Craig loves to play rugby. Craig suffers from the fear of flying.

Seeking Reactions

Career:

"I always wanted to be an actor. I had the arrogance to believe I couldn't be anything else." Daniel Craig

Finishing acting classes in the early 1990s, Daniel Craig subsequently landed on the big screen playing Sergeant Botha in John G. Avildsen's adaptation of Bryce Courtenay's novel, The Power of One (1992). In the same year, Craig also played a role in Ray Austin's Zorro: A Conspiracy of Blood, and appeared on television as a guest on the sitcoms Boon (UK) and Covington Cross.

After acting in the British 1993 TV movies Sharpe's Eagle (Bernard Cornwell's novel adaptation) and Genghis Cohn (based on Romain Gary's novel), director Michael Gottlieb cast Craig as Master Kane in his family comedy film, A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995). He subsequently acted on the small screen again, playing roles in the UK miniseries Our Friends in the North (costarring Christopher Eccleston) and the TV film Kiss and Tell (starring Peter Howitt and Cheryl Ladd). Craig also starred in the acclaimed miniseries, an adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic tale of Moll Flanders, The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders, in 1996.

Craig played bit parts in such films as Saint-Ex (1996), The Ice House (1997, TV), and Obsession (1997). However, he won the significant role of strong-willed James Lynchehaun, who has an affair with an Englishwoman (played by Greta Scacchi), in the movie version of James Carney's novel, Love and Rage (1998, helmed by Cathal Black). He was also recognized for portraying Derek Jacobi's lover in the biography movie of the British painter Francis Bacon, in Love Is The Devil: Study For A Portrait Of Francis Bacon (also in 1998, directed by John Maybury).

In the rest of the 1990s, Craig played roles in Shekhar Kapur's acclaimed drama, Elizabeth (1998, starring Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush) and in the UK's short film, Shockers: The Visitor (1999, TV). He also starred as war-hardened Sergeant Winter in William Boyd's directorial debut, the war-drama The Trench, in 1999 (also starring Paul Nicholls).

Entering the new millennium, Craig portrayed a schizophrenic couple, with Kelly MacDonald, in the UK drama comedy, Some Voices (2000). His other film work includes Hotel Splendide, I Dreamed of Africa (both in 2000), and the UK's miniseries, Sword of Honour (2001, based on Evelyn Waugh's novel).

Playing Alex West in Simon West's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), helped Craig to catapult his name toward Hollywood recognition. Since then, he nabbed more distinguished roles, including that of Paul Newman's son in Sam Mendes' acclaimed crime drama, Road to Perdition (2002, alongside Tom Hanks and Jude Law) and most notably portraying Gwyneth Paltrow's husband, English poet Ted Hughes, in Christine Jeffs' biopic Sylvia (2003). In the UK, Craig portrayed German physicist Werner Heisenberg in the BBC historical drama, Howard Davies' Copenhagen (2003), and played Darren, a young man who has an affair with a grandmother (played by Anne Reid) in Roger Michell's The Mother (2004).

In recent years, Craig, who is rumored to be the next James Bond, played the lead roles in several UK films. He played Samantha Morton's love attention in an adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel, Enduring Love (2004) and portrayed XXXX in Matthew Vaughn's crime action, Layer Cake (2005). He also recently costarred with Adrien Brody in John Maybury's thriller, The Jacket (as Rudy Mackenzie) and appeared in a Hungarian film, an adaptation of Imre Kertesz's Nobel Prize-winning novel, Sorstalanság (starring Marcell Nagy). On the small screen, Craig returned to the UK to star in the mystery movie, Archangel, based on Robert Harris' novel.

Craig will act in the upcoming films: Steven Spielberg's classic drama, Untitled 1972 Munich Olympics Project, and Untitled Douglas McGrath Movie (as convicted murderer Perry Smith).
"As far as I'm concerned, I want to be nowhere else. It's difficult in film because everybody wants to make a safe bet with roles. But if you are going to do stuff then you should be getting strong reactions. I don't want audiences to be going 'yeah, that's all right.'"

Awards:

• London Critics Circle Film: British Actor of the Year, Enduring Love, 2005
• British Independent Film: Best Actor, Some Voices, 2000
• Edinburgh International Film Festival: Best British Performance, Love
• Is The Devil: Study For A Portrait Of Francis Bacon (1998)