Danish star Mads Mikkelsen has been a prominent figure in many Hollywood films including roles in blockbuster franchises like Indiana Jones and playing the chilling baddie in Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale. The actor’s arresting personality and unique method of performance has been his trademark over the years.
While his role in Casino Royale was a game changer for the celebrity, Mikkelsen revealed that the pressure to succeed in Hollywood was nothing compared to what Daniel Craig underwent in his effort to step into the shoes of the iconic secret agent. The Promised Land star recalled how the Skyfall actor was scrutinized and judged by the public even before he transformed into James Bond on screen.
Daniel Craig Faced Many Challenges Enroute To Becoming James Bond
Taking on a cult character who has been immortalized by many celebrated actors over the years is no mean feat. Daniel Craig felt every bit of this pressure when he signed on to play the suave 007 agent after Pierce Brosnan handed over the reins. Not only did the British actor endure the stress of living up to an iconic character, he also had to face the insult of being written off very early by film buffs who questioned his credibility as James Bond even before he could prove himself.
HIs co-star in Casino Royale and the memorable antagonist of the film Mads Mikkelsen was privy to the extreme scrutiny that Craig was facing from all corners. While the Danish star admitted that the entire cast felt the responsibility of doing justice to a James Bond film, he revealed that the expectations from Craig in particular, was beyond compare. In an interview with Deadline, the star recalled,
“There was a pressure on all of us, but on Daniel it was much more so, because there was not one day he would walk down the street — before we even shot a scene — and not see a headline saying he sucked, he was blonde, or his nose was wrong, or whatever. Everything was wrong. If that was pressure on me, he must have felt it a thousand times more.”
But as the proverb states, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Despite these challenges, Daniel Craig soaked in the pressure and transformed himself into the perfect James Bond along with a powerful performance by Mikkelsen as the villain. From being considered unworthy for the role, the Spectre star was praised as one of the best Bonds in the franchise.
Daniel Craig Was Forced To Step In As Writer For Quantum Of Solace
From facing immense pressure to justify his casting as James Bond to becoming an integral part of the scripting process during a crisis, Daniel Craig has truly embodied the essence of the character in every way. Craig’s Quantum of Solace which is regarded as the weakest of the actor’s James Bond movies, went through its fair share of obstacles that affected many aspects of the filming and production.
With the Hollywood Strike of 2007 coinciding exactly with the filming of the 2nd James Bond installment from the Craig era, producer Barbara Broccoli had to endure a sticky situation when 3 of the writers for Quantum of Solace turned in their papers to go on strike. With a half-baked script that was nowhere near complete, Broccoli turned to her lead actor Daniel Craig to step in and work his magic despite the star’s lack of writing experience. The Cowboys and Aliens actor remembered the challenging time and told NME,
“There was me trying to rewrite scenes – and a writer I am not. Me and Mark Forster were the ones allowed to do it. The rules were that you couldn’t employ anyone as a writer, but the actor and director could work on scenes together. We were stuffed.”
There were also speculations that Craig’s version of the script which had many significant changes from the original script written by Paul Haggis, could have resulted in Quantum Of Solace not being received well at the box office. But this ultimately was not considered to be the main reason behind the film’s failure.
