British GQ - 04.2020

­wheeler-dealer­who­ends­up­as­a­vagrant.­

Two­years­later,­he­was­in­Love Is The Devil,­

an­art-house­movie­about­the­painter­Francis­

Bacon,­playing­the­role­of­George­Dyer,­a­

burglar­and­a­lover­of­Bacon.­Craig­was­naked­

and­covered­in­paint­for­much­of­the­time.­“He­

was­­laughing­his­head­off,”­John­Maybury,­the­

director,­told­me.­“He’s­not­afraid,­and­that­

is­unusual­because­lots­of­actors­are­quite­

­terrified­of­misplacing­their­image­or­misplac-

ing­their­craft.”­Maybury­directed­cult­music­

videos­in­the­1980s­and­1990s.­He­recognised­

a­punk­spirit­in­Craig,­“a­kind­of­underlying­

panic”.­Maybury­couldn’t­get­enough­of­that­

face­on­screen.­“Those­icy-blue­eyes,”­he­said.­

“Part­of­you­wants­to­trust­him­and­wants­to­

believe­in­all­of­the­nice-guy­stuff.­But­there­

is­something­in­those­eyes­that­is­quite­psy-

chotic:­the­navy-blue­circle­around­the­edge­

of­the­blue.”­

Love Is The Devil­was­a­surprise­hit.­In­

2002,­Sam­Mendes­cast­Craig­as­a­crime­boss’­

unbalanced­son­in­Road To Perdition,­a­big-­

budget­Prohibition-era­gangster­film.­Craig­>>

Jeans by Front General Store, £75. frontgeneralstore.com

‘ I know we can’t

have Bond doing

amphetamines.

But inside, I know

[he’s] doing that’

DANIEL CRAIG

04-20-DanielCriagWithCopy_3481961.indd 159 11/02/2020 16:44

APRIL 2020 GQ.CO.UK 159