The acting icon Daniel Craig considers “magical to watch”
It might be the case that Daniel Craig will forever be known as James Bond, so iconic is the highly-sought after role. But even though Craig delivered some excellent 007 films over the years – most notably Casino Royale, Skyfall and Spectre – he should also be known for his efforts in other works.
His breakthrough role in the BBC drama Our Friends in the North showed that Craig was a natural talent, while his later performances in the likes of Road to Perdition, Layer Cake, Munich and David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo proved his case even further. His recent effort in Knives Out also ought to go some way to suggesting that Craig is far more than just James Bond.
While several plaudits have come Craig’s way over the years, the actor has never stopped short of offering it in turn to his fellow players wherever he feels it is deserved, and he once spoke glowingly of his Layer Cake co-star, the legendary British actor Michael Gambon.
“There’s a thing about Michael,” Craig once told Groucho Reviews. “Michael is from a generation of actors. He worked with Olivier. He’s done this tremendous amount of stage work. But he’s as modern an actor as you would ever like to meet.”
“He has a depth of raw emotion, which is shattering to watch sometimes,” Craig added. He’d been interviewed around the time of Layer Cake’s release, the British crime film serving as Matthew Vaughn’s directorial debut. Craig plays a London-based criminal, while Gambon plays a wealthy crime overlord.
Discussing Gambon’s performance in Vaughn’s film, Craig noted, “And maybe you don’t see it so much in Layer Cake, but he improvised most of his lines in Layer Cake, which is fantastic. And he plays. When he’s on form, he plays. It’s playtime for him, and it’s magical to watch.”
As Craig notes, Gambon worked with Laurence Olivier as part of the original Royal National Theatre cast and has been nominated for as many as 13 Olivier Awards, winning three. He performed in several Shakespeare plays, including Othello, Hamlet and Macbeth, as well as many more contemporary productions.
Gambon has also significantly contributed to the worlds of cinema and television; he played Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies between 2004 and 2011, gave his voice to Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox and won a Bafta for his work on Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective.
However, for Craig, it’s really Gambon on stage that provides his best work. “I ask anybody to go and watch him on stage when he’s on form and not fall emotionally in love with him,” he said. “He’s just sort of – he’s just one of those human beings.”
