April 28, 2005 - Producer Matthew Vaughn takes a seat in the director’s chair for the indie thriller, “Layer Cake,” starring Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller and Michael Gambon. Centering on Craig’s character (who is never referred to by name), the film delves into the drug world with Craig starring as a successful businessman whose plans are thwarted when he tries to retire from the drug trade.
Director Vaughn acknowledges that selecting the right actor for the lead role wasn’t easy. "It’s a hard character to play as an actor. The whole point about XXXX is that he's a poker player. It doesn’t matter what’s going on around him, you never know what he’s thinking which means you’ve got to be a very good actor, a very subtle actor to play him,” said Vaughn.
J J Connolly, author of the book the film’s based on, adapted the story for the big screen. Connolly couldn’t be happier about getting Daniel Craig to play the lead in his multi-layered story. “Casting the untitled central character was always going to be hard. A lot of very good actors really wanted it but when Daniel Craig was suggested it was a done-deal. We wanted to get as far away as possible from jolly-ups and banter, guys trying to look too cool throughout the movie. We needed an actor who was prepared to go to the depths of emotion without anchors - not wanting to remain too cool for school,” explained Connolly.
Immensely popular in England and only now catching on in America, award-winning actor Daniel Craig’s name has been floating around a lot lately in connection with the role of Bond, James Bond. Known for his roles in serious British films, it’s not a huge leap to picture the talented, sexy actor filling the shoes recently vacated by Pierce Brosnan.
In this one-on-one interview, Craig discusses his role in “Layer Cake,” working with first-timer Matthew Vaughn, and those pesky Bond rumors:
INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL CRAIG:
You’ve described “Laker Cake” as a crime film, not a gangster movie. What’s the difference between the two?
I think gangster movies involve the behavior of gangsters and how despicable they are or how they control people. This is much more a movie which has a strong story line based upon the rise and the fall of characters, with a crime setting. Hopefully it’s more sophisticated than your average gangster movie. I believe it is. You have to think more. There [are] very complicated plot twists, which will all work out, but you have to sort of sit and concentrate if you want to follow the movie. Which, as far as I’m concerned, that’s more the type of movie that I enjoy watching.
What did Matthew Vaughn say to you to convince you “Layer Cake” wasn’t just another “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels?”
Well, he just said that. But we also clicked early on. We share a lot of our favorite films, especially from the late 60s and early 70s that came out of the UK, but also out of the US. Sort of the classic crime films. And that this movie had to look as cinematic as possible, and that it had to have a grand scale and make London look like as cinematic as possible. And to steer away from being ‘tricksy’. Not using the camera as another character, but the camera just tells the story.
The audience never learns your character’s name in “Layer Cake.” When you were preparing to play him, how did you refer to him? Did you come up with your own name?
Only a joking name. I always called him ‘Cynthia.’ No, the point about it is that he’s someone who doesn’t have an identity. He doesn’t have an identity for a very good reason because he doesn’t want to sort of allow too much of himself to be known. So it kind of just played into the character.
So when you were working on the film, you’d tell your friends you were just playing ‘this guy’?
Yeah, just a guy. I mean, really, people call him “Four X” or “Quadruple X.’ I was talking to someone today who called him “Deleted.” And that’s probably the best name for him.
Page 2 - Daniel Craig on the Attraction of "Layer Cake" and Getting Into Character
Page 3 - James Bond Rumors and "The Jacket"
