Daniel Craig

Though he enjoyed a deal of anonymity early in his career, actor Daniel Craig was launched to international stardom in 2005 when he was named as Pierce Brosnan's successor to play the role of James Bond. Following years of over-the-top action and reality stretching plotlines, Craig helped to bring the Bond franchise back to its grittier espionage roots with the critically hailed "Casino Royale" (2006). Prior to his portrayal of Bond, Craig appeared in films like "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001) and "Road to Perdition" (2002), before garnering attention as an unorthodox drug dealer in the British crime thriller "Layer Cake" (2004). From there, he earned more kudos for "Enduring Love" (2004) and struck fear as a single-minded Mossad assassin in "Munich" (2005). But it was "Casino Royale" that turned the rising star into an overnight sensation, though his later go-rounds as Bond - "Quantum of Solace" (2008), "Skyfall" (2012), and "Spectre" (2015) - were not always as well received. Meanwhile, Craig delivered strong performances outside the Bond universe in the World War II drama "Defiance" (2008) and the much-anticipated American adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011), while making celebrity news for his marriage to English actress Rachel Weisz in 2011. Regardless of the Bond role, Craig possessed the talent and presence that would have made him a star regardless.