Daniel Craig Time Out Interview on Skyfall and Quantum

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  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    I’m in the gym every day, that’s the truth, I have to be there. I have to start doing it ten weeks off from filming, otherwise it doesn’t work.

    I'm wondering, is this really necessary?
    Don't get me wrong, I like it. I workout in the gym regularly, some people say I'm a fitness freak.
    We all know James Bond has to be fit, all the previous ones were, but none of them had so much muscles.
    Did the producers demand of him to be buffed and ripped?
    Some kind of contract obligation, maybe?

    Craig has said he believes Bond needs to look like a man who could kill you when he takes his shirt off. This is his way of achieving that. While I'm not in 100% agreement with his viewpoint I do think he shold keep in top shape for as long as he can.
    The_Reaper wrote:
    I hope he winds up doing five total, that's what he's contracted for.

    Craig is actually contracted for four films.
  • Samuel001 wrote:
    I’m in the gym every day, that’s the truth, I have to be there. I have to start doing it ten weeks off from filming, otherwise it doesn’t work.

    I'm wondering, is this really necessary?
    Don't get me wrong, I like it. I workout in the gym regularly, some people say I'm a fitness freak.
    We all know James Bond has to be fit, all the previous ones were, but none of them had so much muscles.
    Did the producers demand of him to be buffed and ripped?
    Some kind of contract obligation, maybe?

    Craig has said he believes Bond needs to look like a man who could kill you when he takes his shirt off. This is his way of achieving that. While I'm not in 100% agreement with his viewpoint I do think he shold keep in top shape for as long as he can.

    Like most things, there's a few different elements at play here. Firstly, there's a purely practical element to it. When filming he's repeating the same physical actions and stunt work over and over again. Increasing cardio, muscular endurance, and strength all helps with that. I remember a story about TJ Hooker years ago - a reporter visited the set and watched them film several takes of Shatner chasing down a young thief. Even though Shatner was 50 and had gained weight, he was faster than the young actor he was chasing, even more so take after take. As he said to the reporter afterwards, he had to have great cardio to film several takes of running, jumping over cars, climbing up ladders, etc. every week. I work part time as a personal trainer and was dealing with a male model this week - he needed to increase muscular endurance (but not size) so he could hold the same pose (such as holding up a product) for several minutes at a time. Just holding a drink up in the air in the same place for 10 minutes is really trying.

    There's also artistic intrepretation - I really appreciated that I believed that Craig's Bond was a highly trained and fit agent when I first saw CR, especially as he likely had recently just come from "the field". One of the things that I liked about some of the Bond books is that they sometimes mention that Bond has to keep training to stay in top shape. With Craig, you can actually believe that.

    Finally, there's a marketing point of view. When I see Craig, who is my age, in such great shape it reminds me of watching Connery when I was a kid and thinking "That's the guy I want to be". There's also the fact that my girlfriend, and most of her friends, will now pay to see a Bond film in a theatre on opening weekend whereas they would have waited to watch it on TV in the past. They all love Craig and to be fair the shape he's in is just part of the equation - his presence, performance, and personality as Bond are all part of the package as well.



  • edited December 2011 Posts: 4,622
    No matter how you slice it, Craig is the wrong body type for Bond. Bond should be tall, lean, deadly and move well.Think Fassbender, Connery, Jon Hamm, Henry Cavill even Clooney, Lazenby, Moore (younger Moore) etc.
    Connery Lazenby Fassbender, Hamm and Cavill are pretty much perfect. Clooney is the right general look but probably not menacing enough.
    When Criag bulks up he looks like mini-hulk. When he doesn't he just looks small. Can't win.
    Henry Cavill. Now he's got a Bond build and physique, although he would have to bulk down a bit from his champion of the Gods physique in Immortals. Bond does not spend two hours a day in the gym, staring at his muscles in the mirror.
  • Posts: 172
    timmer wrote:
    No matter how you slice it, Craig is the wrong body type for Bond. Bond should be tall, lean, deadly and move well.Think Fassbender, Connery, Jon Hamm, Henry Cavill even Clooney, Lazenby, Moore (younger Moore) etc.
    Connery Lazenby Fassbender, Hamm and Cavill are pretty much perfect. Clooney is the right general look but probably not menacing enough.

    Clooney & Cavill? they were deadly? are you serious? the word 'deadly" can't go along with the same sentence with them. Yes Cavill is tall, lean and move well, deadly ? nah He is a heartthrob not deadly.


  • edited December 2011 Posts: 4,622
    Well I did say that Clooney was probably not menacing enough. Cavill was pretty tough in Immortals, even if the violence was rather OTT and he was rather overmuscled, but still he moves well. Another film, in which he impressed, was Tristan and Isolde; a period piece,in which he plays a rugged warrior whose quite stoic and very good with a sword.
    Cavill would make an awesome Bond. Maybe grab him for Bond 25. He'll still be under 35, so not too old, and like Craig, he's an Englishman. Bonus.
  • Posts: 4,619
    timmer wrote:
    No matter how you slice it, Craig is the wrong body type for Bond.

    Don't forget that that's not a fact. It's just your opinion.
  • Posts: 6,601

    timmer wrote:
    No matter how you slice it, Craig is the wrong body type for Bond.

    Don't forget that that's not a fact. It's just your opinion.

    The figures here just plainly speak an own language, Timmer. I don't know, how many polls that body won for him and how it got men into the gym to look like that.

  • Posts: 12,526
    i think its a good thing that Daniel Craig wants to be in the best physical condition he can. Its great that the lead actor can do his own stunts! It adds to the idea that this guy has embraced the responcability of performing all parts of the role for as long as he can. whether you like him or not? You gotta admire his dedication to the role. One thing i have atleast learned from all these discussions? Is this? NO MATTER WHO IS JAMES BOND? YOU ARE NOT GONNA PLEASE EVERYONE!

    its the charactors we love and care about. And the people who play them feel the same way too! And like us they have their own interpretation of the roles too! If the producers said that you play them like they are written in the books? i do not think we would have reached 50 years! Actors would say no thanks as they could not make their mark on the role! They would say he is no Connery!

    Its great to see the movies adapt to the times of the day and their audiences. If they didn't? It would get repetitive and then interest would be lost sadly.
  • edited December 2011 Posts: 4,622
    Germanlady wrote:

    Timmer. I don't know, how many polls that body won for him and how it got men into the gym to look like that.

    Not this man :P That body is two hours a day in the gym, minimum. No thanks.
  • timmer wrote:
    Germanlady wrote:

    Timmer. I don't know, how many polls that body won for him and how it got men into the gym to look like that.

    Not this man :P That body is two hours a day in the gym, minimum. No thanks.

    Timmer, I can assure you that being in that kind of shape doesn't require two hours in the gym a day. A lot of people over-do it at the gym; a lot of people I've worked with can stay in that kind of shape with 45 minute workouts (I've seen even less). Getting there in the first place may take longer but having a methodical, scientific plan and working hard is far more important than working a long time. The problem is that most people go to the gym and think that just going will get them into good shape - a plan personal to each person is important (also, not chugging back beers and fast food).

    One of the trainers I work with does 25 minute workouts 7 days a week and is in roughly the same shape as Craig, although a bit more muscular. And then some people that go to my gym work out 4 days a week for 2 hours at a time and still look out of shape after doing that for 2 years. Not all workout plans work the same...

  • edited December 2011 Posts: 4,622
    Craig admits to 5 days a week. I'm exhausted thinking about it.
    I prefer the Sean and Rog workouts. A few pushups and sit-ups maybe.

    "Then we started lifting man's weights! I can bench press myself now. I said to Simon, 'Look, I've got to look like I can kill somebody.' If I take my shirt off, it's not, 'Oh, nice body.' It's got to be 'Oh f****** hell, he could do somebody.'"
    (cuss words edited by me)

    The man is obsessed. Sean to Craig. "Calm down paduan, put down the hulk weights. Let me show you the ropes. Its all in how you move."
  • edited December 2011 Posts: 172
    timmer wrote:
    Well I did say that Clooney was probably not menacing enough.

    Clooney IS never menacing enough.
    timmer wrote:
    Cavill was pretty tough in Immortals, even if the violence was rather OTT and he was rather overmuscled, but still he moves well.

    Maybe is just me, but his acting in Immortals is quite overpraised. He look try so hard to be tough.
    timmer wrote:
    Another film, in which he impressed, was Tristan and Isolde; a period piece,in which he plays a rugged warrior whose quite stoic and very good with a sword.

    I don't see Cavill as a rugged warrior in that film. WIth his long hair, He looks like a woman with a mustache. I think i can fairly say Cavill is the most tough looking guy among the prettiest actors. Btw Is Cavill sometimes looks like Matt Bomer? I think they can make a movie together as twins.
    timmer wrote:
    Cavill would make an awesome Bond.

    Until he landed the role, we never know he can make an awesome Bond. Even he finally being cast, we all not sure he can make an awesome Bond. Performance would say it all. Superbly handsome doesn't mean an actor would be awesome as Bond.Beside if Man of Steel become successfully hit, It would hurt his chance to become Bond. The door would still open but not wider than before.



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