Daniel craig training casino royale

Pre-Casino Royale

“As an ex-military man, I think I was uniquely placed to understand the discipline, mental strength and stamina required in order to train to become the ultimate cinema superspy, James Bond. Luckily, Dan was no shirk when it came to hard work, so I devised a programme that had diversity and would suit the role of Bond, pushing him to his limits and beyond, like the character demands.

“Dan had briefed me on his goals and was determined to get stuck in. No stone was left unturned in terms of developing speed, strength, stamina and a sharp, focused mind. I'm a stickler when it comes to attention to detail, so posture, definition, movement and confidence were at the top of the list. I also wanted functioning muscle – there's no point in having great muscles if they can't be used in a beneficial way like speeding across the ground, climbing, jumping and fighting.

“The workouts were a blend of powerlifting, with a lot of compound exercises thrown in. This allows you to work out extremely hard with heavy weights, and because it's so intense the heart rate is elevated. Therefore, you are working not only on the development of nice lean muscle tissue, but you're also getting a bit of cardio as well and keeping your body fat down.

“After a few sessions it was clear Dan was a tough, athletic guy, so I decided the way to get the best results was to add a motivational element – ie, competition. I always recommend if you can work out with a friend then it's ten times easier, so rather than just coach him, we actually trained together, pushing each other that bit further.

“After a few months of training, Dan was lifting and performing like an athlete. He had full focus on what he wanted and the discipline from me to help him execute it. Even now, I still can't believe the physical changes he achieved. It just shows that with willpower and dedication you can achieve anything.”