What Daniel Craig (58) Ate to Build a Body That Redefined James Bond

When Daniel Craig stepped out of the ocean in Casino Royale, something shifted in how the world thought about James Bond. It was not the tuxedo. It was the body underneath it, and the fact that it looked like it could actually do everything the character was supposed to do. Nobody had seen a Bond look like that before.

The physique was real, the diet was brutal, and the story behind both is more interesting than most people realize.

The Moment It All Started

Craig was handed the Bond role and immediately called in ex-Royal Marine trainer Simon Waterson, who had previously worked with Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry on the franchise.

Waterson showed up at Craig’s door to a star holding a breakfast sandwich with a look of dread on his face. According to Waterson, that was the moment Craig started to realize what he had actually signed up for.

Craig quit smoking on the spot. That was the beginning.

What He Ate for Casino Royale

The goal for Casino Royale was bulk: muscle, power, and a physique that looked freshly out of the military. Craig ate five to six small meals throughout the day to keep his metabolism running and his blood sugar stable, consuming around 144 grams of protein daily.

His meals centered on egg whites, chicken, fish, leafy greens, and brown rice. Carbohydrates were cut in the afternoon and evenings, leaving protein and vegetables to carry the night.

He eliminated all processed food, all sugar, and restricted alcohol strictly to weekends. The trade was simple: eat clean during the week, then eat and drink what he liked on Saturday and Sunday.

What He Told His Trainer

Craig’s brief to Waterson was unforgettable. He reportedly told him: “I’ve got to look like I could kill someone when I take my shirt off.”

Waterson designed a blend of powerlifting and compound exercises, kept the sessions to just 45 minutes a day, five days a week. The intensity was the point. Keep the heart rate high, build muscle, and burn fat simultaneously.

It worked.

How the Menu Upgraded for No Time to Die

By the time Craig prepared for his final Bond film, the diet had become significantly more sophisticated.

His breakfast evolved into rye bread, poached eggs, avocado, kimchi, kale, black coffee, and shots of turmeric and lemon-ginger juice before the day even really began. It was a recovery-forward morning ritual as much as a meal.

Throughout the week, Craig alternated between plant-based, pescetarian, protein-rich, and vegetarian meals, eating red meat only on Fridays. The structure gave his body variety while keeping inflammation low.

The Shots That Surprised Everyone

One of the lesser-known weapons in Craig’s dietary arsenal was turmeric root juice, taken as a daily shot for its powerful anti-inflammatory properties.

He also took a probiotic shot to support his immune system during the punishing training blocks, and refueled after workouts with a plant-based recovery shake made from nut milk, plant protein, and greens, on days when a full meal was not possible.

What a Typical Day on the Diet Looked Like

The structure, as reported by Men’s Journal and Total Shape, followed a consistent rhythm.

Breakfast was poached eggs with rye bread, avocado, kimchi, and turmeric shots. The first snack was a protein shake with nuts. Lunch was fish or lean meat with brown rice or a baked potato. The second snack was yogurt with nuts and another protein shake. Dinner was grilled chicken or fish with leafy greens, kept deliberately light.

How He Maintained It Film by Film

Waterson’s genius was in evolving the body with each film rather than repeating the same preparation. Casino Royale was about building size.

Quantum of Solace was cardiovascular speed and agility. Skyfall shifted toward functional strength. Spectre was the most stunt-heavy.

No Time to Die was about longevity, recovery, and performing at the highest level while being smart about the body’s limits.

Waterson’s stated goal for Craig’s final Bond preparation was to make him the fittest man of his generation. By all accounts, they got there.

The Philosophy That Made It Work

Waterson summed up his approach in a line that stuck: aesthetics are a by-product of performance, not a goal in themselves. The body was built to function, sprint, climb, fight, and endure, and the way it looked was simply what happened when you trained and ate for that purpose.

Craig has said he focused on “feeling good” and “being strong” rather than chasing numbers on a scale. The result was a physique that looked genuinely capable because it genuinely was, built not in a single burst but across fifteen years of discipline, evolution, and a trainer who knew exactly when to push and when to let the body breathe.