When Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale, the decision stirred up some controversy. Fans were skeptical, as Craig didn’t fit the traditional “tall, dark, and handsome” mold that had become synonymous with the iconic spy, especially coming off Pierce Brosnan’s tenure. Despite being shorter and blonde, Craig’s appeal was undeniable, but there was another surprise in store for fans that they didn’t know at the time: the actor wasn’t exactly a poker expert.
Craig’s Bond debut brought him face to face with Mads Mikkelsen, who played Le Chiffre, a villainous banker linked to the Lord’s Resistance Army. Bond’s mission took him to the Casino Royale in Montenegro, where he was entered into a high-stakes Texas Hold ‘em tournament against Le Chiffre. The sequence was pivotal for showing Bond’s cool-headedness and poker prowess, as he won the game with a near-impossible hand after surviving a poisoning and assassination attempt.
However, according to Mikkelsen, there was one major hiccup in making these poker scenes work — Daniel Craig couldn’t play poker to save his life.
In an interview with GQ, Mikkelsen shared his frustration: “If you’re a poker player, you’d watch the scene and go, ‘What!?’” The actors had to ensure the betting felt authentic, but the hands had to be exaggerated for audience understanding, which led to some over-the-top moments. But the real trouble behind the scenes was Craig’s lack of poker knowledge. “Everybody at the table knew how to play… except for Daniel,” Mikkelsen revealed. “He had no clue. He was awful at it.”
Of course, it’s not essential for every actor to be an expert at the skills their character possesses — that’s what acting is all about. But for Mikkelsen, it was hard to ignore the irony. After all, the very actor portraying the supremely skilled Bond couldn’t get a grip on poker. The entire situation felt a bit out of place, almost as if Craig might next be telling us he doesn’t enjoy martinis or women.
Despite the challenges, the poker scenes still became iconic — but not for the reasons one might expect. For Mikkelsen, the most irritating part of filming was that, despite Craig’s lack of skill, he ended up beating him in the game. “It was the worst thing that he, of all people, had to win,” Mikkelsen confessed. “It felt wrong!” There he was, playing a brilliant villain, and yet the table seemed to have dealt him the losing hand.
While Craig got to play the suave, sophisticated spy who beat the best poker players in the world, Mikkelsen had to sit through the shoot with an eye injury, dressed as a villain, his character looking anything but charming. But Mikkelsen managed to find some satisfaction in the end, noting that Le Chiffre still got his revenge with that infamous torture scene.
