How Daniel Craig Became the ‘Fittest 50-Year-Old on the Planet’

In 2005, just after currently being named the upcoming James Bond, Daniel Craig was in his trailer on the established of a film he was wrapping up. That is when he got the knock.

“Daniel opened the door, breakfast sandwich in hand and a seem of dread on his deal with,” recollects Simon Waterson, who was standing on the other aspect. Waterson, 46, is the trainer hired to get Craig into condition for Casino Royale. As for the seem of dread: “I believe he began to realize what he signed up for, and he would have to get paid those sandwiches now.”

Craig, now 52, acquired the sandwiches, and Waterson acquired Craig’s have faith in. Their partnership continued across all five motion pictures, like No Time to Die, and probably the actor’s final bow as 007. Early rumors suggest the action rivals—if not eclipses—all previous films.

Developing a Greater Bond

In the evening after their introduction, over a couple of beers, Craig instructed Waterson that his eyesight for Bond was to raise the bar—which provided performing a larger sized share of struggle scenes and stunts than previous actors experienced. There was an early stipulation: Craig wanted a education companion, not a drill instructor. “Getting to strike the routines collectively, and trade off whilst pushing every single other, designed the periods far more pleasing,” Waterson suggests.

Waterson experienced labored with Pierce Brosnan twice in the course of his switch as Bond, so the trainer understood the preparation it took. Compared with a superhero function, where the aim is packing on muscle, the Bond physique is far more nuanced. He’s a secret agent who slips unseen across enemy strains, executes a mission—nabbing delicate facts, then blowing shit up—parkours off properties/cranes/trains to escape, and cleans up in time for cocktail hour.

In 2006, Casino Royale launched the environment to a new Bond that film reviewers collectively simply call “brooding.” Quickly-forward to the infamous torture scene when Craig is tied to a chair bare, and you’d also say Bond is developed.

For Craig, the aim for every single Bond film considering that has under no circumstances been to “get back into Bond shape” but relatively to surpass the previous iteration.

“That isn’t uncomplicated, because Daniel isn’t having any more youthful,” Waterson suggests. “With every single film, it will take far more energy to get to the upcoming degree, but he demonstrates up every time.”

Adhere to the Script

The education protocol is not uncomplicated, but No Time to Die is evidence that it functions. As with most action motion pictures, Waterson got an early seem at the script, then made routines that provided classic practical movements with specialized drills personalized to the most physically demanding action sequences.

Waterson understood the physicality expected because he’d performed it in actual daily life. He’d been a member of the 845 Naval Air Squadron—an elite special forces device in the U.K.—which usually means he’s uniquely skilled to coach an individual for any eventuality.

Preparing for No Time to Die commenced far more than a yr just before the cameras rolled. Waterson came knocking once again on Craig’s door for two-7 days-lengthy boot camps every thirty day period. Very first, they developed a power and conditioning foundation. (Waterson shares a model of his preshoot exercise session right here.)

Later, Waterson wonderful-tuned the prepare for particular routines Craig could do in the film, with a concentration on agility. So they provided soccer and rugby drills. Craig transpires to be a previous rugby participant, and those periods brought out the actor’s competitive aspect. “He is a challenging 1 to capture,” Waterson suggests.

Lights, Digicam, Action

When filming commenced, Craig’s plan was exact to the minute. After Craig got to established, he and Waterson expended 30 to forty minutes performing stretching and muscle activation particular to the sequences scheduled to film that day. With ten minutes to go, Waterson gave the cooks the go-in advance to cook dinner Craig’s breakfast of eggs, rye bread, avocado, kimchi, turmeric shots, and black espresso.

Then the workday began—10 hours of sprinting, fighting, and auto chases. And some thing else to keep in mind: except for hugely choreographed scenes with pyrotechnics and 1-and-performed useful special consequences, Craig was often designed to do the similar bodily scene numerous periods. And he can’t seem winded. The 10th just take should seem like the first.

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