The backlash regarding Daniel Craig's blonde James Bond never made sense to 007 producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Based on the series of novels by Ian Fleming, the Eon film franchise centered around the iconic British spy began back in 1963 with Sean Connery taking on the lead role. In the decades to follow, the role was passed on to George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan, many of which were not blonde of hair.
In 2006, Craig took over the role from Brosnan for Casino Royale and returned for 2008's Quantum of Solace, 2012's Skyfall, and 2015's Spectre. Craig's fifth and final film as James Bond released in the US earlier this month on October 8, a little later than expected given the multiple delays due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, No Time to Die delivers what many are considering to be a satisfying sendoff for Craig. While he is now the definitive Bond of this era, Craig's casting over a decade and a half ago didn't come without controversy.
Part of the internet backlash against Daniel Craig's casting as James Bond was due to the fact that he has blonde hair, which never made sense to the franchise's longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. During a conversation with CinemaBlend, Broccoli notes that they already had a blonde Bond in Roger Moore, so she couldn't understand what all the fuss what about. Read what they had to say below:
Wilson: A lot of people were already condemning him before they saw him in the role. It was terrible to listen to those comments, especially when we knew how good he was. It’s the effect on him and the members on the crew, it seems so unfair to judge a film before you even see a frame.
Broccoli: It was pretty crazy when they were saying "Blonde Bond" and all this when Roger Moore was blonde. I just couldn’t follow the logic, but anyway. Daniel’s been stupendous and it’s just feels so great to be celebrating him now with this movie.
Though it's difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for the blonde backlash, it's likely due to a desire for the films to honor the source material. In Fleming's novels, he is described as having short black hair, though this is nothing more than a superficial trait that has little bearing on the character. Rewinding to 2005, Craig was largely an unknown quantity and his casting as Bond sparked a ton of backlash not just focused on his hair color. Some also thought he was too short of stature and wouldn't be able to perform the necessary stunts.
Needless to say, Craig proved all the naysayers wrong once the cameras started rolling. His iteration of Bond was slightly more serious than normal, but quickly became beloved all the same. At the time it was released, Casino Royale went on to became the highest-grossing 007 movie ever only for Craig to set the bar even higher with Skyfall six years later. Blonde hair or not, Craig has surely left his mark on the James Bond franchise.
Source: CinemaBlend