Craig is Asriel, Lord Asriel
Filed under: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Newsstand, James Bond
Ok, dammit. Who forgot to tell Daniel Craig that James Bond is a long-term commitment, and he's expected to devote his life to the role for the duration of his involvement with the franchise? The fool has gone and joined another multi-part film series -- this is going to seriously cut into his crucial, Bond-enhancing working-out and practicing-being-suave time. The series in question is the His Dark Materials trilogy, which is kicking off its on-screen existence with The Golden Compass: Variety reports today that Craig has committed to playing Lord Asriel in the film, and that the character is "a fixture" in all three books in the series. Sure, Asriel -- described as "a ruthless and mysterious adventurer" -- sounds both intriguing and perfect for Craig, but still. The Golden Compass starts shooting next month, and is apparently scheduled to wrap just seconds before things commence on Bond 22 -- there's no way he's going to be at full Bond-power with that kind of schedule. I mean, the future of the British empire is at stake!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-18-2006 @ 11:29AM
Finished.Law.School said...
Isn't Asriel the evil cat from Smurfs? I hate Smurfs - always have and always will.
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8-18-2006 @ 11:52AM
RP said...
To be honest, if he can get away with it, i'd like him to do as much work as possible in between Bond movies. He's a fantastic actor, and the last thing i want to happen is for him to become typecast as Bond.
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8-18-2006 @ 12:13PM
Matt said...
Asriel, while a central figure in the books, doesn't really appear all that often. I imagine Craig's time commitment would be about the equivalent of shooting a single feature. And they'll surely be pulling a LOTR-type single shoot here.
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8-18-2006 @ 12:16PM
The Jeremy said...
No, the future/re-establishment of the British Empire is not up to Daniel Craig, but Torchwood.
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8-18-2006 @ 12:21PM
dara said...
This cast is shaping up to be very true to the descriptions of the characters in the book, both in look and attitude. A very good sign that Weitz is taking the visual realization of this very popular book seriously.
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8-18-2006 @ 12:47PM
Cath said...
Anyone who saw him in The Jacket knows he has the requisite intensity for the role. While Azriel is not in the story all that much, it is his quest and without that dark center the rest of the film could fall apart. Interestingly enough, Timothy Dalton played Azriel in the stage production.
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8-18-2006 @ 12:57PM
Drac said...
Matt is right. Despite being very important to the overall storyline, Asriel doesn't appear very often, so I wouldn't worry about it cutting into Craig's Bond-time much.
As for the casting choice... Craig isn't the firt person I would've picked for Asriel. Then again, a year ago I wouldn't have pegged him for Bond either. But he's a good, solid actor though and from what I've seen him in so far, I think he'll end up being a pretty good choice.
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8-18-2006 @ 1:12PM
Dan said...
Cath, I was gonna point out the Craig-Dalton connection there too! Nice call!
Then, of course, there's the added part about Bond Girl Eva Green also being cast in "The Golden Compass." All sorts of weird Bond loops happening.
I like Craig following in Dalton's footsteps. It'll make it easier to cast that "Beautician and the Beast" sequel I've been working on...
-Dan
This is a good piece of casting and it bod
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8-18-2006 @ 1:29PM
Porchland said...
Should have gone with Chris Kattan.
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