WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.580 Imagine being handed like a bespoke, just perfectly 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:07.719 tailored tuxedo. It's stunning, right? The fabric 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:10.720 is flawless, and literally, the entire world 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.560 admires you when you wear it. It opens every 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:15.740 single door on the planet for you. Sounds like 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:18.859 a pretty good deal. It does. But over the course 00:00:18.859 --> 00:00:21.859 of 15 years, that fabric starts to feel a little 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:25.260 tighter. The seams begin to dig into your shoulders. 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:28.699 And suddenly, you realize that this beautiful, 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:33.359 world -famous tuxedo has slowly, almost imperceptibly 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.020 transformed into a straight jacket. Oh, wow. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:39.479 Yeah, that's the ultimate paradox of massive 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:41.640 success, isn't it? Exactly. I mean, we all seek 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:44.659 out that defining role, that pinnacle achievement 00:00:44.659 --> 00:00:48.030 in our respective fields. But we rarely anticipate 00:00:48.030 --> 00:00:50.170 the intense constriction that comes with being 00:00:50.170 --> 00:00:52.090 permanently associated with just one thing. Yeah, 00:00:52.189 --> 00:00:54.509 you get boxed in. Right. When a character becomes 00:00:54.509 --> 00:00:56.909 larger than the actor playing it, that golden 00:00:56.909 --> 00:00:59.090 ticket starts to feel like a golden cage. It 00:00:59.090 --> 00:01:03.049 really does. So today, we are unpacking the continuously 00:01:03.049 --> 00:01:06.010 evolving career of Daniel Craig. We're going 00:01:06.010 --> 00:01:08.549 to use his recently updated biography to figure 00:01:08.549 --> 00:01:11.409 out how a working class theater kid navigates 00:01:11.409 --> 00:01:15.469 the white -hot pressure of playing a global cinematic 00:01:15.469 --> 00:01:18.269 icon. It's a fascinating journey. It really is. 00:01:18.590 --> 00:01:21.409 And more importantly, we are going to explore 00:01:21.409 --> 00:01:24.670 how he managed to creatively liberate himself 00:01:24.670 --> 00:01:27.609 after finally escaping that role. So, okay, let's 00:01:27.609 --> 00:01:29.750 unpack this. Let's do it. Before we get to the 00:01:29.750 --> 00:01:32.549 Aston Martins and the international espionage, 00:01:32.870 --> 00:01:35.150 we have to understand the grit that built his 00:01:35.150 --> 00:01:37.709 foundation. Because Daniel Craig didn't come 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:39.950 from Hollywood royalty. He didn't just fall into 00:01:39.950 --> 00:01:42.170 a tuxedo. No, far from it. I mean, if you look 00:01:42.170 --> 00:01:44.849 at the architecture of his early life, it's rooted 00:01:44.849 --> 00:01:47.370 in a very blue collar reality. Right. He was 00:01:47.370 --> 00:01:50.290 born in Chester in 1968, and he ended up moving 00:01:50.290 --> 00:01:52.689 to the world peninsula with his mother after 00:01:52.689 --> 00:01:54.909 his parents divorced. She was an art teacher. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:57.480 Oh, okay. So there was some artistic influence 00:01:57.480 --> 00:01:59.900 early on. Exactly. It was actually his mother 00:01:59.900 --> 00:02:02.459 who sparked his interest in acting by taking 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:04.599 them to the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. That's 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:06.939 amazing. Yeah. And from there, it's just a story 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:09.919 of pure hustle. I mean, he started acting in 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:12.020 a primary school production of Oliver at age 00:02:12.020 --> 00:02:15.400 six. Wait, age six? That is so young to catch 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:17.580 the bug. Yeah, age six. And he stuck with it. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.560 By 16, he's moving to London and funding his 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:22.780 time at the National Youth Theatre and later 00:02:22.780 --> 00:02:25.469 the Gilhall School of Music and Drama. And how 00:02:25.469 --> 00:02:28.469 did he pay for that? Because London is not cheap. 00:02:28.729 --> 00:02:31.310 Well, he was waiting tables and working in restaurant 00:02:31.310 --> 00:02:33.610 kitchens, just grinding it out. See, that is 00:02:33.610 --> 00:02:36.409 crucial context. That working class hustle, I 00:02:36.409 --> 00:02:38.750 think, informs everything about his early career 00:02:38.750 --> 00:02:41.090 strategy. Go 100%. Because when he graduates 00:02:41.090 --> 00:02:44.110 from Guildhall in 1991, he doesn't have the luxury 00:02:44.110 --> 00:02:47.110 of, like, waiting around for the perfect starring 00:02:47.110 --> 00:02:49.449 vehicle to just land in his lap. Right. He can't 00:02:49.449 --> 00:02:52.569 be picky. Exactly. He has to work. And the result 00:02:52.569 --> 00:02:55.800 is this incredibly diverse... totally unglamorous 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:59.099 string of roles. He's taking big swings early 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:01.740 on. Yeah, look at his late 90s output. Right, 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:04.159 he plays a Jesuit priest named John Ballard who 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:06.479 gets executed in the movie Elizabeth. And then 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:09.219 he plays a schizophrenic man navigating life 00:03:09.219 --> 00:03:12.039 outside a psychiatric hospital in some voices. 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:14.500 And this is where we really see the development 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:17.340 of his technical toolkit. I mean, he isn't playing 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:20.039 the handsome leading man here. Not at all. He's 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:23.560 playing broken, complex, often deeply troubled 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.419 individuals. His breakthrough was actually in 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.860 the 1996 BBC drama, Our Friends in the North. 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:32.340 Oh, I've heard of that. Yeah. He played Geordie 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:35.240 Peacock, and it proved he could carry a long 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:37.639 -term narrative arc that was just steeped in 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:40.210 tragedy and grit. That's the exact opposite of 00:03:40.210 --> 00:03:42.849 a slick super spy. Right, right. But then you 00:03:42.849 --> 00:03:45.389 have a movie like Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, in 00:03:45.389 --> 00:03:48.370 2001, where he plays Angelina Jolie's love interest. 00:03:48.469 --> 00:03:51.009 Oh yeah, that was a shift. And it was critically 00:03:51.009 --> 00:03:53.509 penned. Craig famously admitted later that he 00:03:53.509 --> 00:03:55.590 only took the role for the money. Now it's easy 00:03:55.590 --> 00:03:57.330 to look at that and just call it selling out, 00:03:57.389 --> 00:03:59.050 you know? Sure, people love to throw that term 00:03:59.050 --> 00:04:01.349 around. But I view it differently. To me, taking 00:04:01.349 --> 00:04:03.990 the Tomb Raider role wasn't selling out, it was 00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:06.550 venture capital. Oh, I like that. Yeah. Venture 00:04:06.550 --> 00:04:10.580 capital. Yeah. He traded his time in a bad movie 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:14.099 to fund his ability to do deep, complex, artistic 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:17.100 work in indie films that paid next to nothing 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:20.180 but built his credibility as an artist. What's 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:22.839 fascinating here is that that is a highly accurate 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:25.139 way to look at the mechanics of a working actor's 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:27.839 career. Exactly. Because he used that mainstream 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:31.879 paycheck to finance roles like the unnamed cocaine 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:34.579 supplier in Matthew Bond's Layer Cake. Such a 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:37.639 good movie. It really is. And he played a mobster 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:40.800 son in Sam Mendes Road to Perdition and a covert 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:43.139 operative in Steven Spielberg's Munich. Those 00:04:43.139 --> 00:04:45.399 are heavy hitters. Yeah. And those roles are 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:47.439 the critical dominoes. Like Layer Cake proved 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:49.420 he could command the center of a slick thriller, 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:52.019 while Munich showed he could play a stone cold 00:04:52.019 --> 00:04:54.420 killer with an active tortured conscience. Which 00:04:54.420 --> 00:04:57.360 is exactly what caught the eye of Eon Productions, 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.720 the people who make the Bond films. Right. It 00:04:59.720 --> 00:05:02.329 wasn't mainstream blockbuster stuff it was the 00:05:02.329 --> 00:05:06.189 gritty layered character work. So in 2004 Bond 00:05:06.189 --> 00:05:08.350 producer Barbara Broccoli happens to meet Craig 00:05:08.350 --> 00:05:10.870 at a funeral of all places. Wait really a funeral? 00:05:11.149 --> 00:05:13.870 Yeah a funeral for a casting director named Mary 00:05:13.870 --> 00:05:16.470 Selway. Broccoli invites him for a cup of tea 00:05:16.470 --> 00:05:18.990 and just out of nowhere offers him the role of 00:05:18.990 --> 00:05:22.990 James Bond. That is wild. But you know it proves 00:05:22.990 --> 00:05:26.009 that the rough unglamorous stepping stones and 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:29.040 even the calculated sellout jobs are often the 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:31.740 very mechanisms that construct the resume for 00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:34.079 the ultimate big break. Right. Ruckley didn't 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:36.540 want a mannequin. She wanted a character actor 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:39.339 who could handle the physical demands of an action 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:42.579 star. But stepping into the most polished hyper 00:05:42.579 --> 00:05:45.680 -masculine franchise on earth is a massive shock 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.180 to the system. And the public's reaction at the 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:51.259 time was just... Oh, it was intense. I want to 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:53.379 look closely at this backlash, because people 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:55.980 were absolutely furious when he was cast. They 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:58.040 complained that he was blonde. They complained 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.959 that at 5 '10", he didn't fit the tall, dark 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:03.680 -haired mold of Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan. 00:06:03.819 --> 00:06:06.019 Which seems so superficial now. Right. There 00:06:06.019 --> 00:06:08.420 were literally organized internet campaigns threatening 00:06:08.420 --> 00:06:11.339 to boycott the entire franchise. But I want to 00:06:11.339 --> 00:06:13.199 push back on the popular narrative here. OK, 00:06:13.220 --> 00:06:15.839 what do you mean? Was this intense fan backlash 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.779 actually about hair color and height? Or is something 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:20.920 much stranger happening when we talk about legacy 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.519 IP? Like, do fans just feel they own the character? 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:27.720 If we connect this to the bigger picture, you're 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:29.920 really touching on the psychology of parasocial 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:32.920 relationships. Right. When a character has existed 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:35.360 in the cultural consciousness for half a century, 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:39.879 audiences develop this fierce, almost proprietary 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:42.079 sense of ownership over them. Yeah, they feel 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:44.740 like it belongs to them. Exactly. It's not really 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:46.639 about hair color. It's about the illusion of 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:49.740 stability. People use cultural monuments like 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:53.240 James Bond as anchors in their lives. That makes 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:55.600 a lot of sense. And when a studio changes the 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:58.360 physical parameters of that anchor, a certain 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:00.639 segment of the audience perceives it as a personal 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:04.079 betrayal. They refuse to let the icon evolve 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:06.600 because it threatens their nostalgic relationship 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:08.680 with the past. Especially considering the history 00:07:08.680 --> 00:07:10.259 he was up against. I mean, think about this. 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:13.060 Craig was the very first Bond actor born after 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:15.160 the film series had already started. Oh, wow. 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:17.889 I didn't realize that. Yeah. And he was born 00:07:17.889 --> 00:07:20.509 after the creator, Ian Fleming, had died. So 00:07:20.509 --> 00:07:22.870 he was stepping into a legacy that literally 00:07:22.870 --> 00:07:25.490 predated his own existence. He's inheriting a 00:07:25.490 --> 00:07:28.129 ghost. Which is why taking a role like Bond is 00:07:28.129 --> 00:07:30.990 so deeply perilous. Craig himself hesitated, 00:07:31.250 --> 00:07:33.790 actually. He was acutely aware of the danger 00:07:33.790 --> 00:07:36.430 of stepping into what he called a big machine 00:07:36.430 --> 00:07:39.389 that makes a lot of money. I bet. That is a ton 00:07:39.389 --> 00:07:42.279 of pressure. It is. He actually sought out Pierce 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:45.399 Brosnan at an event for advice, and Brosnan just 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:48.639 told him, quote, Go for it. Just go for it. That's 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:50.160 nice that he got his blessing. Yeah. And what 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:51.939 really saved Craig from the backlash was the 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:54.860 fraternity of former Bonds. Sean Connery, Roger 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:57.540 Moore, Timothy Dalton and Brosnan all publicly 00:07:57.540 --> 00:08:00.319 defended him. Connery even explicitly called 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:03.040 his casting marvelous. That had to feel good. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:05.600 And then Casino Royale comes out in 2006 and 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:08.160 the conversation just stops. Completely stops. 00:08:08.420 --> 00:08:10.920 The critics are silenced. The boycotters buy 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:12.720 tickets. It becomes the highest grossing Bond 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:15.420 film at the time. But more importantly, it changes 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:18.199 the DNA of the character. It really did. He didn't 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:21.120 just replicate what came before. He brought this 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.220 raw, bruised humanity to the screen. Well, that 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:26.500 was the painful reinvention required to survive 00:08:26.500 --> 00:08:30.319 the big machine. Craig aimed to bring unprecedented 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:32.879 emotional depth to a character that was previously 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:35.860 just known for detached coolness. Right. You 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:39.220 watch Casino Royale, you see a spy who bleeds, 00:08:39.379 --> 00:08:42.879 who makes reckless mistakes, who falls devastatingly 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:45.860 in love. He took the emotional toolkit he built 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:48.700 in indie films, like Some Voices, and applied 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:51.970 it to a $100 million blockbuster. and he mastered 00:08:51.970 --> 00:08:54.769 the cultural impact of the role so thoroughly 00:08:54.769 --> 00:08:57.590 that by the end of his run, the line between 00:08:57.590 --> 00:08:59.850 Daniel Craig, the actor and James Bond, the fictional 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:02.789 spy, just completely blurred. Oh, definitely. 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:05.889 Like in 2021, the Royal Navy made him an honorary 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:08.970 commander. Then in the 2022 New Year honors, 00:09:09.149 --> 00:09:11.250 he was appointed a companion of the Order of 00:09:11.250 --> 00:09:14.269 St. Michael and St. George, a CMG, which is amazing. 00:09:14.289 --> 00:09:16.509 It is because if you know the lore, that is James 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:19.029 Bond's exact rank and honor. The British government 00:09:19.029 --> 00:09:21.210 essentially decorated the act. as if the character 00:09:21.210 --> 00:09:23.509 were real. It is an incredible testament to his 00:09:23.509 --> 00:09:26.730 performance across Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, 00:09:26.950 --> 00:09:29.990 Spectre, and No Time to Die. But carrying that 00:09:29.990 --> 00:09:33.029 level of identification, physically and psychologically, 00:09:33.610 --> 00:09:37.299 is a heavy burden. For 15 years, every public 00:09:37.299 --> 00:09:39.799 appearance, every interview, every workout regimen 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.379 was dictated by the shadow of Devil 07. Which 00:09:42.379 --> 00:09:44.480 brings us to what I think is the most fascinating 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:47.159 pivot in modern Hollywood. When you spend 15 00:09:47.159 --> 00:09:49.500 years carrying a weight of a cultural monument, 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.740 the natural human reflex isn't just to politely 00:09:52.740 --> 00:09:55.440 step away. No, you want to break out. Exactly. 00:09:55.500 --> 00:09:58.340 It is to actively rebel against it. So here's 00:09:58.340 --> 00:10:01.019 where it gets really interesting. Craig explicitly 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:04.059 says he's quote unquote done with Bond after 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:06.960 and no time to die in 2021. And the roles he 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:08.919 takes immediately afterward are the complete 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:11.799 antithesis of the secret agent. The psychological 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:13.879 rebellion is so obvious when you look at his 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:16.340 acting technique. Let's analyze his shift to 00:10:16.340 --> 00:10:19.120 Detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson's Knives 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:20.639 Out series. Oh, I love those movies. They're 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:22.940 great. Right, right. And the series continued 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:25.919 with Glass Onion in 2022 and the upcoming Wake 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:30.000 Up Deadman in 2025. Playing Bond requires intense, 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:33.659 contained physical tension. Bond walks into a 00:10:33.659 --> 00:10:36.860 room, scans for threats, and speaks in clipped, 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:39.960 stoic sentences. Benoit Blanc is the polar opposite. 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:42.759 Totally. He's loose, he's eccentric, he sports 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:46.100 this thick southern drawl, and he actively revels 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:49.220 in the absurdity of the people around him. Craig 00:10:49.220 --> 00:10:52.220 is utilizing a completely different vocal and 00:10:52.220 --> 00:10:55.000 physical toolkit. I look at his post bond career 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:58.120 like a highly successful, severely stressed out 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.419 corporate CEO who finally steps down from a massive, 00:11:01.580 --> 00:11:04.940 rigid Fortune 500 company just so he can joyfully 00:11:04.940 --> 00:11:07.840 launch a chaotic highly creative startup in his 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.080 garage. That's a great analogy. Right. The pressure 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:12.659 of maintaining the stock price is gone. He is 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:14.980 taking massive artistic swings because he's finally 00:11:14.980 --> 00:11:17.200 creatively free. And those swings are incredibly 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:20.320 diverse. I mean, in 2022, he returns to his theater 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:22.879 roots, playing Macbeth on Broadway opposite Ruth 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:25.740 Nega. Wow. Then he takes on the role of William 00:11:25.740 --> 00:11:28.980 Lee in Luca Guadimino's 2024 adaptation of the 00:11:28.980 --> 00:11:31.240 William S. Burroughs novel Queer. That was a 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:33.940 huge departure. Oh, absolutely. The physical 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:36.440 and emotional vulnerability required for that 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:39.120 film is staggering, and it earned him Best Actor 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:41.360 nominations at the Golden Globes, the Critics' 00:11:41.539 --> 00:11:44.200 Choice Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:46.419 Incredible. And he's even slated to play Uncle 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:50.100 Andrew in a new adaptation of Narnia, The Magician's 00:11:50.100 --> 00:11:53.240 Nephew. Wait, Uncle Andrew and Narnia, you literally 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:55.980 cannot get further away from shaking martinis 00:11:55.980 --> 00:11:59.799 in a tuxedo than playing a manipulative, cowardly 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:03.559 magician in a children's fantasy epic. Exactly. 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:06.509 And it's entirely intentional. Craig provided 00:12:06.509 --> 00:12:09.529 a quote regarding his role in Queer that perfectly 00:12:09.529 --> 00:12:11.710 encapsulates this new chapter. What did he say? 00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:13.769 He said, I didn't know what the end result would 00:12:13.769 --> 00:12:16.090 be, but I knew the journey was going to be something 00:12:16.090 --> 00:12:18.370 else. When you are leading a billion -dollar 00:12:18.370 --> 00:12:20.509 franchise, the end result, you know, the box 00:12:20.509 --> 00:12:22.330 office, the critical reception, the fan reaction, 00:12:22.570 --> 00:12:24.470 is the only thing that matters. Right. It's all 00:12:24.470 --> 00:12:26.929 about the metrics. But his post -bond philosophy 00:12:26.929 --> 00:12:29.629 is a profound shift in values. He's no longer 00:12:29.629 --> 00:12:32.549 serving fixed expectations. He is serving the 00:12:32.549 --> 00:12:35.559 pure joy of the creative journey. That desire 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:39.240 for pure authenticity on screen actually mirrors 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:41.419 how he operates when the cameras stop rolling, 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:43.879 too. When you look at his private life and his 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:46.860 public stances, he operates with fierce independence 00:12:46.860 --> 00:12:49.659 and a very heavy dose of skepticism. Oh, his 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:52.720 privacy is notoriously guarded. A perfect example 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.139 of this is his marriage to actress Rachel Weisz. 00:12:55.259 --> 00:12:57.059 Right. They had known each other since working 00:12:57.059 --> 00:13:00.220 on a stage production in 1994, began dating in 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:03.750 2010, and married in New York City in 2011. But 00:13:03.750 --> 00:13:06.149 they didn't sell the photos to a magazine or 00:13:06.149 --> 00:13:08.509 host a massive Hollywood gala. They kept it quiet. 00:13:08.690 --> 00:13:12.610 Very quiet. They had Exactly four guests in attendance, 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:14.950 two of whom were their own children. Four guests 00:13:14.950 --> 00:13:16.549 for one of the most famous men on the planet. 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:18.789 I mean, that is an active rejection of the celebrity 00:13:18.789 --> 00:13:21.230 machine. It really is. And he applies that same 00:13:21.230 --> 00:13:23.970 fierce independence to his worldview. He obtained 00:13:23.970 --> 00:13:26.950 American citizenship, speaking openly about his 00:13:26.950 --> 00:13:29.350 experience as an American immigrant. He supported 00:13:29.350 --> 00:13:32.269 Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections, 00:13:32.269 --> 00:13:35.529 and he was highly outspoken against Brexit before 00:13:35.529 --> 00:13:39.389 the 2016 referendum. He famously wore a vote 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:42.590 remain that read, no man is an island, no country 00:13:42.590 --> 00:13:45.590 by itself. He definitely does not shy away from 00:13:45.590 --> 00:13:48.450 using his platform to express his views. And 00:13:48.450 --> 00:13:51.309 looking at the source text, his perspective is 00:13:51.309 --> 00:13:55.029 rooted in a deep, almost visceral cynicism toward 00:13:55.029 --> 00:13:56.970 political structures. And this is where it gets 00:13:56.970 --> 00:13:59.519 really interesting. I need to pause here and 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:01.360 be very clear to you. Listening to this deep 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:03.799 dive right now, we are not taking sides here. 00:14:04.019 --> 00:14:06.480 Absolutely not. We are strictly maintaining total 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.159 impartiality. We are not endorsing any of these 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:11.139 viewpoints. We are just reporting what is documented 00:14:11.139 --> 00:14:13.799 in the original source material. Exactly. Because 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:15.879 regardless of where anyone listening stands on 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:18.279 the political spectrum, Craig's unvarnished perspective 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:21.500 is fascinating. He isn't giving polished PR answers. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.580 No, he is not. Back in 2012, he was quoted expressing 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:27.759 a profound distrust for politicians. He literally 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:31.210 called them quote shitheads yeah saying that's 00:14:31.210 --> 00:14:33.549 how they become politicians even the good ones 00:14:33.549 --> 00:14:35.889 we're actors we're artists we're very nice to 00:14:35.889 --> 00:14:37.730 each other they'll turn around and stab you in 00:14:37.730 --> 00:14:40.830 the fucking back that is blunt very and he deliberately 00:14:40.830 --> 00:14:43.129 avoids aligning himself with political parties 00:14:43.129 --> 00:14:46.580 for exactly that reason and again, just looking 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:49.960 impartially at the sources, his skepticism extends 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:52.399 beyond just the political class into broader 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:56.320 economic structures. How so? Well, in 2021, he 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:58.620 publicly criticized the concept of inherited 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:02.120 wealth, calling the idea of inheritance distasteful. 00:15:02.379 --> 00:15:04.440 Interesting. Yeah. He stated that his personal 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:07.240 philosophy is to, quote, get rid of it or give 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.399 it away before you go. It's a very blunt, unsentimental 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:12.600 way of looking at legacy and resource hoarding. 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:14.779 But this creates a fascinating paradox that I 00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:17.779 want to explore. How does someone reconcile such 00:15:17.779 --> 00:15:21.179 deep vocal cynicism toward global political systems 00:15:21.179 --> 00:15:24.799 with the massive amount of hopeful, active humanitarian 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.539 work he does? Because he is incredibly active 00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:30.679 on a global scale. This raises an important question. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.200 I think the answer lies in the mechanics of direct 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:35.299 action. OK, what do you mean? When you distrust 00:15:35.299 --> 00:15:38.120 the bureaucratic machinery of politics, you look 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:41.419 for avenues where your platform can bypass that 00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:43.940 machinery to enact tangible change on the ground. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.289 How that makes total sense. Right. In 2015, the 00:15:47.289 --> 00:15:49.269 United Nations appointed Craig as their first 00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:52.190 global advocate for the elimination of mines 00:15:52.190 --> 00:15:54.850 and explosive hazards. He works heavily with 00:15:54.850 --> 00:15:58.370 the UN Mine Action Service, or UNMAS. Which led 00:15:58.370 --> 00:16:00.649 to that incredible moment with the former UN 00:16:00.649 --> 00:16:03.809 Secretary General Ban Ki -moon. Yes. Ban Ki -moon 00:16:03.809 --> 00:16:05.990 actually told him, you have been given a license 00:16:05.990 --> 00:16:08.429 to kill, I'm now giving you a license to save. 00:16:09.090 --> 00:16:11.350 It's a brilliant soundbite, but it makes me wonder 00:16:11.350 --> 00:16:14.110 about the actual mechanics of celebrity diplomacy. 00:16:14.750 --> 00:16:18.039 Is it just PR? Or does it move the needle? Well, 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:20.679 if you look at the UNMAS safe ground campaign 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:23.919 that Craig launched in 2019, it's highly tangible. 00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:26.139 The stated goal of the campaign is to literally 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:29.080 turn active minefields into safe playing fields 00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:32.279 and stadiums. Wow. So actual physical change. 00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:35.100 Yes. It's not about passing abstract legislation. 00:16:35.179 --> 00:16:37.399 It's about physically removing explosives from 00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:39.779 the earth so children can walk to school or play 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:42.100 a game of soccer without risking their lives. 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:45.470 That is powerful. It is. When an individual has 00:16:45.470 --> 00:16:49.049 a massive global platform, they can shine a spotlight 00:16:49.049 --> 00:16:53.269 on deeply unglamorous, dangerous work, forcing 00:16:53.269 --> 00:16:55.529 funding and attention towards solutions that 00:16:55.529 --> 00:16:58.470 politicians might otherwise ignore. So what does 00:16:58.470 --> 00:17:00.970 this all mean for you today? We've tracked a 00:17:00.970 --> 00:17:03.210 genuinely incredible trajectory in this deep 00:17:03.210 --> 00:17:05.440 dive. We really have. We started with a blue 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:07.920 collar kid grinding away in London restaurants 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.079 to pay for drama school. We watched him use mainstream 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:14.019 blockbusters as venture capital to fund complex, 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:16.960 brilliant indie performances. We saw him step 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.859 into the crosshairs of global pop culture, absorbing 00:17:19.859 --> 00:17:22.559 intense backlash to fundamentally redefine the 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:25.799 world's most famous spy. And then, against all 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:27.839 odds, we watched him successfully break out of 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.579 that golden cage to become a versatile, unpredictable 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:33.079 artist making exactly the art he wants to make. 00:17:33.160 --> 00:17:35.940 The through line here is autonomy. If we connect 00:17:35.940 --> 00:17:38.460 this directly to your own life and career, there 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:41.220 is a powerful reminder embedded in Craig's journey. 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:44.559 You do not have to be defined by your single 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.319 biggest success. You don't have to be limited 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:50.279 by the mold people expect you to fit into. Whether 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:52.240 you are dealing with the pressure of a massive 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:54.839 achievement or the constriction of a long held 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:58.250 role, you always have the power to pivot. to 00:17:58.250 --> 00:18:00.549 shed the weight of those expectations, and to 00:18:00.549 --> 00:18:03.230 write a completely different, entirely unexpected 00:18:03.230 --> 00:18:06.029 next chapter for yourself. Which leaves us with 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:08.190 a lingering question for you to ponder long after 00:18:08.190 --> 00:18:11.089 we sign off. I love this. When you finally achieve 00:18:11.089 --> 00:18:13.630 the absolute pinnacle of success in your field, 00:18:14.210 --> 00:18:16.289 when the world hands you that perfectly tailored 00:18:16.289 --> 00:18:18.529 tuxedo and tells you that you've made it, does 00:18:18.529 --> 00:18:20.690 that achievement ultimately set you free? Or 00:18:20.690 --> 00:18:22.829 does it simply build a golden cage that you will 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:24.730 spend the rest of your life trying to escape?