“The name’s Craig. Daniel Craig.” That line might not have the same ring as his most famous catchphrase, but it sums up the actor’s knack for making every role whether it’s a tuxedoed spy or a bleach-blond explosives expert utterly unforgettable. For nearly two decades, Craig has been Hollywood’s go-to for grit, charm, and the occasional left-field comedic turn.
Even though his James Bond franchise rebooted the series with a darker, grittier tone, Craig’s own career is richer than a single iconic performance. From morally compromised spies to offbeat detectives, he’s built a body of work as varied as it is captivating. And with each production, he’s shown a willingness to surprise audiences, sometimes in ways that downright defy expectations.
Here’s a handpicked list of nine of Daniel Craig’s finest performances graded not just on their box office draw, but on how they showcase his versatility, dedication, and unadulterated on-screen presence.
1. Knives Out (2019)
Rian Johnson’s contemporary whodunnit provided Craig with an opportunity to swap Bond’s taciturnity for the talkative, verbose Benoit Blanc. With his newly-iconic Southern drawl crafted over months with the help of an accent coach Craig brought what could’ve been a caricature to life as a fleshed-out, quotably unlimited detective. As Johnson revealed to Queue, Blanc’s mannerisms were constructed mostly after Craig was hired, so his work in creating the character as it stands faultless. The result? A performance so good that it gave birth to a new franchise and made Blanc a modern-day Hercule Poirot.
2. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
The second go-around as Blanc by Craig in this sun-soaked sequel was proof positive that lightning did indeed strike twice. Here, he is trapped in a web of lies on the island retreat of a tech mogul, exchanging insults with an adoring cast that features Edward Norton and Janelle Monáe. His quick-witted patter, his body more acidic, and innuendos about character like Blanc’s professed marriage to Philip (Hugh Grant) carry more gravity. It’s a performance that shows Craig’s comfort in Blanc’s flesh, and people are clamoring for more of the next Wake Up Dead Man.
3. Casino Royale (2006)
Craig’s Bond introduction was a reboot of the franchise, ditching high-tech excess for visceral physicality and emotional depth. His take was darker, more clinical, but vulnerable a combination that quieted initial skeptics regarding a “blonde Bond.” From the kinetic black-and-white opening to the heartbreak-washed ending with Vesper Lynd, Craig brought to life a 007 as lethal as he was mortal. Little surprise this performance is largely responsible for saving the entire franchise.
4. Munich (2005)
In Steven Spielberg’s morally challenging spy thriller, Craig is Steve, a South African driver whose vendetta conflicts with Eric Bana’s troubled Avner. His character’s chilling aside about looking after “Jewish blood” only is the harbinger of a savage edge before his Bond work. Spielberg’s uncompromising examination of the violence cycle is heightened by Craig’s turn as an actor untroubled by moral constraint making it one of his most disturbing and nuanced performances.
5. Logan Lucky (2017)
Bleach-blond hair. Thicker Southern drawl than a possum’s hide. A talent for blowing things up. As Joe Bang, Craig is nearly unrecognizable and utterly side-splitting. Steven Soderbergh’s NASCAR-themed heist farce lives by its absurdity, and Craig plays along with abandon, swiping from co-stars Channing Tatum and Adam Driver. It’s a masterclass in comedic timing by an actor who has established himself with intensity, making his range into farce even more astonishing.
6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
David Fincher’s icy suspenseful thriller engages Craig as disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist in a decades-spanning murder mystery with unforgettable Rooney Mara’s Lisbeth Salander. Mara steals the show, but Craig’s earthy, intuitive acting is welcome ballast for the film’s unsparing darkness. His chemistry with Mara and capacity for expressing gentle determination make it one of his finest non-Bond performances.
7. Layer Cake (2004)
Before Bond, there was XXXX a fashionably dressed, nameless cocaine peddler trying to exit the life. Matthew Vaughn directed this fashionably self-conscious crime thriller, which permitted Craig to indulge both his smooth charm and his capacity for out-of-nowhere violence. It was a performance that some, such as critic Roger Ebert, praised as a smart guy in a world where smart is both a plus and a weak spot. It’s the role that put him firmly on the 007 radar.
8. Road to Perdition (2002)
His portrayal of the insecure, hot-headed son of Paul Newman’s crime boss bossed Craig into delivering a great heel to hate playing Connor Rooney. With Tom Hanks’ brooding antihero and Conrad L. Hall’s Oscar-winning camerawork dominating the film, Craig still managed to get noticed. His take on petty jealousy turning into deadly betrayal foreshadowed the darker turns he’d eventually bring to Bond.
9. Defiance (2008)
For Edward Zwick’s World War II saga, Craig portrays Tuvia Bielski, the eldest of four brothers who save Jewish war refugees in Belarus. Steadfast in leadership, yet also open to moral compromise, Tuvia is a part that will rely on Craig’s natural gravitas but also grant him moments of vulnerability. The film’s action and communalism provided him with another kind of heroism one that was less superficial than Bond’s, but not less firm.
Daniel Craig’s own career is a success story of artful reinvention. He is every bit as convincing in a tailored tuxedo as he is in prison uniform or 1930s gangster suits, and each role solidifies his resume. Whether he’s taking down a crime empire, unraveling a plot-twisting murder, or grappling with moral murkiness, Craig has an intensity and authenticity about him that captivates audiences again and again. With additional Benoit Blanc mysteries on the docket, be sure his best is yet to come.
