Daniel Craig’s father has passed away at the age of 77 after battling with liver cancer.
Tim Craig’s death last Thursday, the day before his wife’s birthday, has left his James Bond star son heartbroken.
The doting father, who has previously described his relationship with his son as being like ‘best friends’, was a Chester businessman who lived near Oswestry in Shropshire with his wife Kirsty.
It is believed that Kirsty, Daniel and his half-brother Harry were with Mr Craig when he died.
Daniel Craig’s father, Tim Craig, has passed away at the age of 77 from liver cancer
It is believed that Kirsty, Daniel (pictured with Tim) and his half-brother Harry were with Mr Craig when he died
The proud father, who was noted for bearing an uncanny resemblance to his son, has been seen at regional premieres for James Bond films that his son has starred in throughout the years such as Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Speaking to the Chester Chronicle years ago, the private man said: ‘Daniel doesn’t talk about me and I don’t talk about him, but naturally I am extremely proud of him as he is a very fine actor.’
Daniel’s publicist Laura Symons said the family would not be issuing a statement.
Hollywood actor Daniel was born at home on March 2, 1968, while his father Tim was working as a landlord of the Ring O’ Bells pub in Frodsham.
It is believed that trips to Chester’s Gateway Theatre inspired his career and he decided that he would become an actor while in the pub.
‘Someone asked what he was going to do when he grew up and without breaking stride he said ”be an actor”,’ Tim is reported to have said.
And the first James Bond film Daniel ever saw was with his father in 1973 when the pair watched Live and Let Die.
Mr Craig has previously said that Daniel ‘guards his privacy’ and the pair had an agreement to stay quiet about each other to the media.
The Chester Chronicle spoke to Mr Craig in 2015 about Daniel’s latest film at the time, Spectre, but his father refused to say anything other than: ‘Of course I’ve seen it.’
Mr Craig, who was a director of a recruitment company in his wife’s name – Kirsty Craig Associates – said that his son ‘got lucky’ in managing to find success in acting.
While no one else in the Craig family did acting, apart from Tim’s cousin Simon Jones who was in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Brideshead Revisited, Daniel knew it was the path for him.
The doting father (pictured at a regional James Bond premiere), who has previously described his relationship with his son as being like ‘best friends’, was a Chester businessman who lived near Oswestry in Shropshire with his wife Kirsty
Mr Craig said: ‘Life’s a journey, the desire to find your bliss, the ultimate quest – he got lucky’.
Daniel’s father broke up with his mother, Olivia, in 1972 and Daniel and his sister Lea went to live with her in Liverpool before moving with her to Hoylake, Wirral.
He was just 16 when he dropped out of school and headed to London to audition for the National Youth Theatre and attended the Guildhall.
His first on screen performance was in Morgan Freeman’s film The Power Of One. Since then he has gained worldwide fame for starring as James Bond and acting in other major hits such as Knives Out in 2019 and Layer Cake in 2004.
Tim, former landlord of The Boot Inn at Willington, previously described his relationship with his son as like ‘best friends’ and said Daniel was a ‘very fine human being’ who wouldn’t be changed by fame and fortune.
And it seems Mr Craig was kind in his professional life as well as his personal life. One social media user took to Twitter upon hearing the tragic news to reveal a thoughtful encounter she had with Mr Craig many years ago.
She detailed how Mr Craig helped her secure a job when he worked at a recruitment agency and even sent her champagne and champagne glasses when she got the job.
One Twitter user took to social media to detail a thoughtful encounter she had with Mr Craig many years ago
She wrote: ‘I’m so sorry to hear that Daniel Craig’s dad Tim has died. He was a really lovely man. I knew him briefly, and he once did a lovely thing for me.
‘Tim Craig had a recruitment agency to which I sent my CV in my twenties. They very politely told me by letter that I wasn’t quite the right fit for them, their client profile was much more experienced, and they wished me well.
‘Months later, I got an unexpected call. It was Tim. He’d found my CV, and thought it was interesting. He had an idea in mind for me. He invited me for a chat. When I met him, he was kind and charming. He thought he might pass my CV on to the director of HR in a large firm.
She detailed how Mr Craig helped her secure a job when he worked at a recruitment agency and even sent her champagne and champagne glasses when she got the job
‘(And yes, we discussed Daniel. This was way back, long before his James Bond days, but I had seen him in ‘The Power of One’. Tim was obviously proud, and delighted I had seen one of his son’s films.)
‘So, Tim set me up with the interview. And I got the job! All because he took the trouble to read a discarded CV and find the potential in it. But that isn’t quite the end…
‘A few weeks later, I had a surprise delivery at my new place of work. A bottle of champagne, and six Royal Doulton Crystal champagne flutes, with a handwritten note from Tim congratulating me.
‘That generous and thoughtful gesture from this lovely man has stayed with me for years. I’ve taken good care of the glasses, and I will drink to him tonight.’
It comes as Daniel’s fifth and final Bond film No Time To Die is set to be released on November 12 in the UK.