Martin Campbell On Daniel Craig's Darker James Bond
The Star Online features a report on Martin Campbell, director of Casino Royale, who speaks about the newest James Bond film as well as Daniel Craig’s darker performance as 007…
‘He certainly fitted the book, and the more realistic approach much better than anybody else,’ says Campbell of Craig as Bond. ‘This Bond had to be darker, and Daniel can convey that. He has that dark quality–that presence on the screen of someone who could definitely take care of himself.’
‘He turned out to be very good indeed,’ Campbell says. ‘I mean, to begin with, he buffed up and he trained and he looked great. But I think there was a little bit of a learning curve in the way you do action, the way you shoot action, the way it’s done. But once he was in the rhythm he was great.’
When asked how Casino Royale compared with his previous film in the series, 1995’s GoldenEye, which introduced Pierce Brosnan as Bond, Campbell said: ‘Well it was a different concept in that GoldenEye was very much a traditional Bond, I think. It was a new actor playing Bond but nevertheless the story was very much along the normal lines, except that in that story 006 was the bad guy, but you still had the bad guys trying to destroy the world, all the usual scenarios, whereas this is very much more down to earth. So no more exploding control rooms, no more incredulous action sequences.’
Campbell was also asked if any particular previous Craig films convinced him that he was the perfect James Bond: ‘Layer Cake has a certain charm about it despite being about drugs. He is very charming in it. And normally, you associate him with slightly heavier roles like Enduring Love, The Mother, Sylvia, and actually I thought Munich was one of the best things he’s done, although he’s hardly got a line in it. He’s bursting with vitality in that role. And as I’ve said, this Bond had to be darker, and Daniel can convey that.
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