1. James Bond - Casino Royale
In the mid 2000s, the whole James Bond franchise looked a bit of a busted flush. Die Another Day had launched everything it had at taking on xXx (Madonna teaches fencing! An invisible Aston Martin!! Terrible CGI!!!) at the expense of having Bond do or say anything particularly interesting, and while it sold well it felt like the end of something. Pierce Brosnans assured, slick, uber-suave Bond didnt make quite as much sense post-9/11 as when hed started, so they subbed in a craggier, blonder chap and went back to the very beginning of the Bond legend. That all the doubt over Craigs suitability went away pretty much as soon as Casino Royale opened. Suddenly, here was an emotionally fraught, doubt-riven man, but also a brutal, calculating, cold contract killer anti-hero, where before had been a Boys Own fantasy who was more a collection of reference points and tics than a believable human being. When Craig finally, finally gets to say, The names Bond - James Bond right at the end, hes earned it by going through hell and redrawing the parameters of what Bond can do on film. That's the brilliance of this performance in particular: it's not just what he does on screen, but what a huge impact it's had on the ongoing vitality of Bond as a whole. Horror writer Garth Marenghi (Author, dreamweaver, visionary, plus actor), once used the phrase I felt muscular and compact, like corned beef. Daniel Craigs Bond is a muscular, compact, corned beef Bond; everything he does is very deliberate, very considered; nothing is ever simply done for effect or because it might look quite cool, which is something which afflicted some of his predecessors. On top of all that, the scene in which he rises from the sea was also immortalised as an ice lolly by Del Monte.