Daniel Craig reveals his fitness regime for Bond - drinking Guinness
Daniel Craig narrows his startlingly blue eyes as he recalls the rough ride he had in his first weeks as superspy James Bond.
âThe first couple of days of filming were very nerve-racking,â he reveals. âWe started off with a fight sequence which I had been rehearsing for two weeks.
âI had to go and get thumped, thump people, throw people through windows, shoot guns.
âI was thrown in at the deep end â and that was probably the best way to do it.
âThere was something in the papers about me getting a tooth cap knocked out, which I did.
âIt was strange because I thought, âOh, so thatâs how itâs going to be!â
âI just had it stuck back in and we carried on like nothing had happened.
âIt was a question of trying to hit the ground running, and I think we did that.â
Superfit Daniel started to prepare for Casino Royale before he even landed the role. In the film, the 38-year-old actor looks amazingly well toned, sporting a six-pack and bulging biceps.
He recalls: âI started training for the film when I knew there was a possibility I might get the part.
âI thought, âIâll start trying to get myself fit anyway and even if it doesnât come off Iâll live another year.â Referring to his work filming the tough action sequences, he adds: âIf I hadnât done it early I donât think Iâd have survived.â But Danielâs tough fitness regime is strictly for weekdays â he insists that the weekend is reserved for having a few pints.
He jokes: âIâm not obsessive about fitness. I work out three or four times a week but I take the weekends off and drink as much Guinness as I can get down my neck.â
Casino Royale, which opens on November 16, sees Bond doing some death-defying leaps, with Daniel trying to do as many of his own stunts as possible.
He says: âObviously there is stuff that I donât have the skills for but Iâm desperate to do as much as I can, stunt-wise.
âWe did a thing where I was shot into the air, and Iâm not great with heights.
âBut it was a piece of . . . Itâs definitely getting better. These challenges come up and itâs about conquering them.â
Like any good spy, Daniel did his research carefully â in this case, watching the entire back catalogue of 007 films.
He says: âIâve got the box set and I went through them religiously. Some are great movies and any film-maker would be lying if they said they didnât copy off people, because you have to.
âI just wanted to go through them all. There was stuff that all of them did that were their little keys and you go, âOh thatâs cute, the way they did that.â â
Chester-born Daniel became the victim of negative stories on the internet after getting the role, and he says: âSome of it was maybe valid but most of it was name-calling. It was like playground stuff. Iâd be lying if I said I ignored it all. And itâs that horrible thing with the internet â itâs like a drug weâve got in the front room.
âWe might use it for sensible things some of the time but thereâs always an hour in our lives where we just end up looking at rubbish.â
The taunts on the web only motivated Daniel to make a brilliant film. He says: âI always wanted to make a great movie but when things started happening online it gave me a resolve.
âIt was like, âWeâve got no choice now â we have to make the best movie we can.â In fact it spurred me on.â
To many movie fans, Daniel had already proved he had immense talent in such films as the Oscar-nominated Munich and Brit flick Layer Cake, which followed on from the popular TV series Our Friends In The North.
Casino Royale is based on the first Bond novel by 007 author Ian Fleming, which was published in 1953.
However, the producers of the new movie decided to change the enemy from communists, as the idea now seems dated.
The chief villainâs name, Le Chiffre, stays the same, although now his only motivation is making money.
Daniel reckons it would have been a mistake to give Bondâs enemies political motives and says: âItâs foolish to get involved with too much politics.
âBut you canât help having an eye on the world outside. What I find interesting is that with the world at the moment weâre not really sure who the bad guy is and that is what I think Bond does â he sort of clarifies that position a little.
âWith Bond we know who the bad guy is and heâs going to go after him and get him. The bad guys in this movie are non-political and non-religious, but we do have terrorism and bombing.â
Casino Royale ends a little abruptly, with the odd question unanswered â such as who is behind the filmâs complex plot.
But Daniel says: âWe donât know who the top man is yet. We will hopefully find out in the next movie.â
The actor is already signed up to star in that film, the 22nd official Bond movie, which has already been given a release date â November 7, 2008.
The James Bond movies have proved to be the most successful franchise in cinema history â and Daniel is fully aware that he cannot afford to mess up this home-grown institution.
He says: âItâs a particularly British movie we are doing here. Itâs Britishn talent producing something special.
âItâs going to give Bond fans â and believe me, Iâm careful about that because I know what it means to them â itâs going to give them what they want.â
Thanks to `Dog Bond` for the alert.
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