As we enter the heart of awards season in the entertainment world, James Bond star Daniel Craig has been announced as the recipient of a prestigious award from the Critics' Circle.
Advertisement
The Critics' Circle is the UK's longest-standing critics association, and on Sunday 2nd February it will be hosting the 45th London Critics' Circle Film Awards ceremony.
During that ceremony, Craig will be awarded the top honour, the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, which in recent years has gone to the likes of Jeffrey Wright, Michelle Yeoh, Pedro Almodóvar and Kate Winslet.
Craig said in a statement following the news: "This is such an immense honour and I’m incredibly grateful to the London Film Critics’ Circle."
Daniel Craig. Lia Toby/Getty Images for MUBI
Meanwhile, Rich Cline, chair of the Critics' Circle Film Section, said: "As critics, we were already fans of Daniel Craig for the adventurous roles he took on even before he became James Bond.
"We honoured him for his roles in The Mother (2003) and Enduring Love (2004), and then of course we also enjoyed his superb take on 007 as well.
"Over the decades, he has consistently made bold choices and pushed against the boundaries that often limit other top stars. We love the Knives Out movies, and have nominated him this year for Queer.
"We are looking forward to celebrating his career at our ceremony.”
This year's awards see The Brutalist and Anora leading the nominations, while the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation will be presented to Zoe Saldaña.
Craig has most recently been seen starring in Luca Guadagnino's Queer, while this year he will return to the character of Benoit Blanc in Wake Up Dead Man.
That film from Rian Johnson will also star an ensemble cast including Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack and Thomas Haden Church.
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
