Five questions with Daniel Craig regarding `Defiance` and 007

16-Jan-2009 • Actor News

When Daniel Craig took over the role of James Bond, the selection turned heads. A ruggedly handsome, serious-minded 007 -- with light-colored hair? Two big hits later, no one's doubting the pick. Craig has won critical praise for "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace." He also has taken on some choice roles outside the series, such as his character in "Defiance," which opens Friday. He plays Tuvia Bielski, one of three brothers (Liev Schreiber and Jaime Bell play the others) who led a Jewish pocket of resistance in the woods of Belarus during World War II and helped save 1,200 people. It's hinted that Craig's and Schreiber's characters are low-grade smugglers. Craig, a dry, friendly sort, spoke recently about his life as an actor and his work in "Defiance." - freep.com reports.

QUESTION: Did you know about this part of World War II history?

ANSWER: No, I didn't. I had vague memories of knowing about Jewish resistance, but only that it was wiped out mercilessly. You know, pockets of it. But I didn't know the scale of it. And just in this area alone, there were 20,000, I think, that were resisting. A lot of them were wiped out, but this story has been hidden away for all sorts of reasons. But it's extraordinary that they didn't just survive or scrape out a living. They almost seemed to thrive.

Q: Why hasn't this story been told before?

A: I think the truth of it is, the people involved didn't want to think about that. We don't shy away from that in the film. We suggest that these people, to survive and do what they did, the premise is they were criminals. It's just a label to give them, to say they were used to this kind of life. They were used to reacting to people. They were used to reacting aggressively to people because that's the kind of boys they were. That's probably one of the reasons they survived, but it's also probably one of the reasons that they didn't want to talk about it. ... God forbid that any of us should ever be in that situation, but hopefully that's a question people will ask themselves as they walk out: "What would I do in that situation?"

Q: For the resistance fighters to hide that effectively, the forests must have been incredibly dense.

A: We were filming 100 kilometers from where it actually happened, in the same chain of forests. You walk 20 yards into this place and you're lost. There's no reference whatsoever. ... The place we were filming is like a fairy tale. If you imagine Hansel and Gretel, it's exactly that. You walk into the woods and you expect wolves to come running out of the next clearing.

Q: How big an effect has playing James Bond had on your career?

A: Of course it's had a very positive effect on the way things are. I've got two successful movies on my back as it stands at the moment, very successful movies. It's made things a little easier in many respects, (but) ultimately there's only a finite number of good scripts out there. There's only a finite number of interesting subjects. You have to go looking for it. Something doesn't just stop coming to you. I get more offers but not necessarily offers of good stuff.

Q: A friend who heard about "Defiance" asked if you were a resistance fighter who takes off his shirt.

A: (Laughs.) It's a living.