A native of Chester, England, Daniel Craig moved to London at the age of 16 to train at the National Youth Theatre. The classically-schooled actor graduated from the esteemed Guildhall School of Music and Drama and made his film debut in the little-known Australian/American co-production, The Power of One, which also featured Morgan Freeman.

A series of made-for-TV films made Craig a recognizable face in the UK but it was the 1996 mini-series, Our Friends to the North, which elevated Craig's status. The nine-parter followed the fortunes of four friends and Craig, playing one such friend, shone in the prominent role. Two years later he was cast in a small role in Elizabeth and played Francis Bacon's lover in the British film, Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon.

From 2000 onward, Craig was a more frequent fixture in Hollywood, appearing in 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition in 2002, and most notably Sylvia in 2003. In 2005, Craig starred opposite Adrian Brody in The Jacket and then hit the set of Steven Spielberg's latest project (the working title is Vengeance) before announcing that he'd signed on to become super spy James Bond for the next three films in the long-running series.