Casino Royale at 20: How Daniel Craig’s casting left James Bond fans shaken and stirred

The name’s Bond, James Bond (Picture: ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)

While we wait to find out who will become the next James Bond, 2026 marks a significant anniversary for the franchise. 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of when Daniel Craig first donned the tux in Casino Royale and kicked off a brand new era for the film franchise that began back in 1962. 

Craig would go on to reprise the role in four more movies, culminating explosively with 2021’s No Time To Die, and in the process became many fans’ favourite ever Bond. 

But it is easy to forget that things didn’t start so rosy for Craig as Bond, with the actor being on the receiving end of a huge wave of backlash. 

So let’s mark the occasion – and Global James Bond Day – and put Craig’s casting in the crosshairs, and revisit the time he first embodied Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 and took on his great foe yet: the British press and Bond fans.

Die Another Day 

Pierce Brosnan found out he was no longer Bond on a beach in the Bahamas. 

Following the release of 2002’s Die Another Day, it was felt by longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson that the franchise had gotten too fantastical and outlandish. 

Particularly in a post-9/11 world, there was the feeling that that sort of Bond could no longer fly, and that something grittier and more grounded was required. And with that, so was a new Bond. 

With its invisible cars, windsurfing and race-swapping villains, it was felt Die Another Day had pushed the franchise to its credible limits (Picture: MGM/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

The hunt began, with reportedly over 200 actors considered, with names ranging from the likes of Michael Fassbender to Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Henry Cavill.

‘We did look at a lot of younger actors, and I just don’t think they had the gravitas, they didn’t have the experience, they didn’t have the mental capacity to take it on, because it’s not just the part they’re taking on, it’s a massive responsibility,’ casting director Debbie McWilliams told the Radio Times.

‘So we kind of scrubbed that idea and went back to the drawing board and started again.’ 

It was when Barbara Broccoli happened to get a glimpse of Matthew Vaughan’s film Layer Cake that Craig began to enter the conversation, and with the enthusiastic backing of one of the film’s lead producers, it seemed the next Bond had been found.

Craig is not Bond

It was on October 14, 2005, on a grey London day, that Daniel Craig, then 37, was officially announced as the next James Bond 007 to the world press.

Pictured travelling on a speedboat on the Thames in a loose-fitting suit, lifejacket and a head of floppy blonde hair, a gum-chewing Craig didn’t quite strike the Bond figure fans had come to expect.

Daniel Craig was unveiled on the Thames in 2005 (Picture: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock) Craig was unveiled on the HMS President, St. Katharine’s Way on October 14, 2005 (Picture: Dave Hogan/Getty Images) His casting was quickly put under the microscope (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images)

The reaction from the press and fans was, to put it mildly, less than enthusiastic. 

The Daily Mirror ran his photo with the headline, ‘the name’s Bland… James Bland’, while online sites and forums were quickly made with names like DanielCraigIsNotBond, CraigNotBond and blondNotBond.

The scrutiny continued into filming, with The Sun reporting in January 2006 that Craig was getting sunburnt while filming in the Bahamas, while other headlines claimed he didn’t know how to drive stick – all features which were derided as very un-Bond-like.

Craig and the production, however, didn’t pay all this noise much heed, with Broccoli telling Variety in 2006: ‘His teeth are fine, he doesn’t have heat rash, and he’s not afraid of the water.’

It seems they knew that the movie should do the talking.

This was the first still released of Daniel Craig in character as James Bond 007 (Picture: Greg Williams/Eon Productions via Getty Images) I don’t see much sunburn, do you? (Picture: Danjaq/Sony/Kobal/Shutterstock)

Craig is Bond 

Despite grumblings from tabloids and fans, with some seemingly writing off this new era of Bond before it had even begun, the resulting film was a resounding success. 

Casino Royale premiered on November 14, 2006, and went on to gross over $600million (£452.4m) worldwide and was critically adored. 

While much praise focused on the breathless, grittier action and the franchise’s tonal recalibration to feel modern and urgent, much of its success was attributed to Craig.

The more hard-hitting action sequences were praised algonside Criag’s performance (Picture:Danjaq/Sony/Kobal/Shutterstock)

Many felt it was the first time Fleming’s character had felt truly embodied on screen.

Roger Ebert called him ‘superb’ while Time Out New York hailed him as ‘the best Bond in the franchise’s history.’ 

He even charmed previous Bonds, with Roger Moore writing in The Times, ‘Craig impressed me so greatly in his debut outing… that I thought Sean [Connery] might just have to move over.’

With the film a resounding success and paving the way for a new future of the franchise, the cherry on top of the cake was that Craig received a Bafta nomination for best actor for the movie, a first for any Bond performance.

Craig received a Bafta nomination for his performance (Picture: THA/Shutterstock) Craig would go on to play Bond four more times (Picture: THA/Shutterstock)

What can the next James Bond learn from Craig’s casting? 

One lesson is pretty clear from Craig’s casting: no matter who the new Bond is, there is going to be a loud corner of fans and the press who simply won’t agree with it. 

Everyone has their own idea about who and what Bond should be, so it is simply going to be impossible to make everybody happy in the already unenviable task of following in Craig’s footsteps.

‘There isn’t an absolute ideal mould,’ casting director McWilliams said. ‘There never would be and never should be, because otherwise, it just becomes boring.’

So, do what Broccoli and Craig did when it came to all the noise: ignore it.

In seemingly an act of defiance to the early critics, Craig never dyed his hair when playing James Bond. He simply got down to the task and delivered an interpretation of the character that, for the most part, blew fans away.

Shaken or stirred? Did it look like he gave a damn?

Casino Royale is back in select cinemas across the UK from October 5, 2026.

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