Daniel Craig

Daniel was born in Chester, England, the son of Olivia, an art teacher, and Timothy John Wroughton Craig, who served as a midshipman in the Merchant Navy and worked in various occupations when he came ashore.

Craig was brought up in Cheshire where his father was landlord of the pubs "Ring 'O Bells" and "The Boot". He attended Hilbre High School and Calday Grange Grammar School. He played for Hoylake Rugby Club.

Craig moved to London when he was sixteen to join the National Youth Theatre after a brief stay at Calday.

Daniel studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1991, and appeared in several minor roles including Sharpe's Eagle and an episode of Drop The Dead Donkey in 1993. His first leading role on screen was as a co-star in the 1996 BBC Television serial Our Friends in the North.

Following an introduction to international audiences as Angelina Jolie's rival and love interest in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), he continued his career in the United States in Sam Mendes's movie Road to Perdition (2002), with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman. Craig played Connor Rooney, the son of an Irish mob boss (played by Newman) and a conniving murderer who hides behind his mobster father's shadow.

In February 2005, Craig had been named in the media as a possible candidate to portray James Bond. On April 6, 2005, Craig was reported to have signed with EON Productions as part of a three-film contract worth15 million (US$29,696,972). However, the news was later debunked by the BBC who contacted EON for an official report. On 23 October 2005, Craig signed a three-film contract. He stated that he "was aware of the challenges" of the James Bond franchise which he considers "a big machine" that "makes a lot of money". He aimed at bringing more "emotional depth" to the character. Significant controversy followed with some fans threatening a boycott of the film, and a website was created for the protest. The reason was Craig being blond unlike all preceding James Bond actors. After the film was released, Craig's performance was highly acclaimed. Critic Paul Arendt of BBC Films, Kim Newman of Empire and Todd McCarthy of Variety all described Craig as the first actor to truly embody the original James Bond from Ian Fleming's novels: "ironic, brutal, and cold". He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor on January 2006, and won the Best Actor award at the Evening Standard British Film Awards on 2 February 2007, both firsts for an actor in the role of James Bond.

In 2007, Craig moved on to portraying the character of Lord Asriel in the The Golden Compass, the film adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights.

In 1992, Craig married Scottish actress Fiona Loudon, with whom he has a daughter, Ella. However, the marriage ended in a divorce in 1994.

After his divorce he was in a seven-year relationship with German actress Heike Makatsch.

In the last few years, Craig has been in a long term relationship with Japanese American film producer Satsuki Mitchell. He was rumoured to be having a relationship with Sienna Miller.