“The press response was awful and I felt so sorry for him, but in a funny kind of a way I think it almost spurred him on to do his damndest to prove everybody wrong.” “It was unbelievably negative, I have to say,” McWilliams said about the reaction to Craig’s casting. As longtime Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams told Entertainment Weekly back in 2021, she “felt sorry” for Craig after his casting led to extreme blowback from press who thought Craig didn’t fit the part of Bond. The decision to ultimately cast Craig in “Casino Royale” did not receive unanimous praise. Campbell previously said that Cavill “looked great in the audition” and “his acting was tremendous,” but “he just looked a little young at that time back then.” One actor who was considered for Bond at the time was Henry Cavill, long before he would become DC’s Superman. And you go through the eight people and you put your hand up as you talk through each person and ultimately everybody has to be unanimous in their decision, if you see what I mean.” “You sit around a table…It was myself and the producers, casting director, etc.
“It’s very democratic,” he explained of the selection process. “So I just thought about that for a minute and apart from that, absolutely it was always him.”Ĭampbell said there were “eight people” in contention to become the new Bond in “Casino Royale.” “Daniel was obviously tougher and rugged, but he wasn’t a traditional handsome guy,” he added.
