New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Bruce Hall: I consider him a star, yes. It's easy to point to the box office and suggest otherwise, but I think what you asked is really two questions, and dollars and cents relate more to the second one. No, I am not sure he's the sort of guy who can open a film big based entirely on his presence. I happen to think that he's a tremendous actor, but his appeal as a leading man may be limited to niche, genre or independent projects. If you're responsible for making financially driven decisions on big budget motion pictures, I am not sure he fits the traditional leading man template. That's one of the things that I like about him, but I'm the kind of guy who owns Layer Cake on Blu-Ray specifically because of Daniel Craig. 99% of moviegoers are not like me, and major studios are by and large not interested in my type. That's just the harsh reality Craig and his career face. But I can see that career panning out a little like Sean Connery's - a filmography peppered with a little bit of everything from forgettable trash, mind blowing independent projects, the occasional blockbuster and of course the gold star for James Bond. Were it not for 007, neither man would be as famous as he is and if you ask me, they both should be.

Edwin Davies: I absolutely agree with Bruce that Craig is a star, just as Connery was, just as Roger Moore was, and just as Pierce Brosnan was. Putting on that suit and becoming Bond imbues anyone with a certain star quality (with the exception of George Lazenby, but then again we wouldn't even know who he was if he hadn't been Bond once), but it's a quality that is very much tied up with that role. As great an actor as Craig is, he's probably never going to escape the shadow of being James Bond enough to become a draw in his own right. And that's fine, because being Bond means that he gets to do more varied projects than he ever could have hoped to otherwise.

Brett Beach: I would have to say star but not box office opener, except in limited instances (even outside of James Bond. Cowboys and Aliens might be one, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo might be another). I have looked at his filmography which goes back to 1992, and see that the first film I would have seen from that list is Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001. I think he made his first solid impression upon me with his role in Road to Perdition. The deal was sealed with his role as Ted Hughes opposite Gwyneth Paltrow as Sylvia Plath and then his "star-making performance" in Layer Cake, in particular the moment at the end when he breaks the fourth wall and turns and addresses the camera over his shoulder. The simultaneous heat and cool on his face could stun a buck at 100 yards.

Also, to Bruce: If I did ringtones, I would have Michael Gambon saying "Welcome to the layer cake, son." I could listen to that over and over.

Continued:       1       2       3       4