Daniel Craig once almost lost his billion-dollar franchise because he refused to change his appearance. Actors going through a vicious transformation in their career are getting more and more common these days. However, there are still some who refuse to go through that.
A lot of times the reason to refuse is that it happens to be a permanent change to their appearance or even a drastic change to their physique that can lead to serious distress.
However, for some, it is simply because they don’t see the change necessary to the character they are playing. And that was exactly what happened with Daniel Craig way back in 2005 when he was cast as James Bond.
Daniel Craig almost lost his James Bond role
Surprisingly, the man who created history portraying the titular spy had to face quite some backlash back when Daniel Craig was first cast for the role. The reason behind it, though, was even more surprising. Basically, the reason people turned on him was his hair color.
According to them, Craig, who is a natural blonde, was deemed unfit by the almighty audience because they refused to accept a “Blonde Bond.” This was actually very surprising since there already was a “Blonde Bond” portrayed by Roger Moore. Someone, people were not only okay with but also celebrated.
Hence the backlash seemed even more ridiculous. However, with mass backlash, there comes a time to appease the masses, and hence the studio asked Daniel Craig to change his hair. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo star though, risking a whopping $85 million salary, point blank refused that.
Because although he was willing to and admittedly did go through a lot of rigorous training and transformation, this particular change seemed completely unnecessary to him. He noted in an interview after its release back in 2006,
“I was asked to dye my hair brown to play this role but it was out of the question. I suggested instead that I could cut my hair really short to create a more brutal appearance.”
Thankfully, his suggestion was approved by the makers and went on to create a billion-dollar franchise over the next 15 years.
The search for a new James Bond after Daniel Craig continues
Although Daniel Craig gave the audience the most iconic James Bond, to date, the time to pass his mantle to someone else has finally arrived. With No Time to Die being his last movie in the franchise, Daniel Craig’s license to kill has officially expired.
Although there were a lot of names on the running list of choices, for example, Henry Cavill and Tom Hardy, even more, were struck out. There have also been quite a few rumors about the filmmakers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, although all of them are yet unconfirmed.
Although Aaron Taylor-Johnson was thought to be the top runner among the ones mentioned, there have been a few more additions like Dev Patel, Taron Egerton, and even Luke Evans. As such, it is hard to who really will come in as Daniel Craig’s replacement for now. Barbara Broccoli noted though,
“That’s what is so exciting and fun about this franchise; the character evolves. Eventually, when we have to think about it, we’ll find the right person.”
And reportedly the right time for the results will arrive by the end of this year. Now, whether the name of Daniel Craig’s successor will really come as a surprise or will that be among the long list of people already in the run is something only time will tell.
Source: What Culture
