From G. Allen Johnson of The Chronicle staff

With just a few days to go until votes for Oscar nomination are due, let me make a last-minute push for what on the surface might seem a laughable candidate -- but bear with me!

I am speaking of one Daniel Craig as James Bond 007 in "Casino Royale," and I am not joking. Craig has entirely remade the concept of James Bond as a character, and with 40 years of prehistory, that's hard to do. His Bond was not only totally unlike the performances of the five actors who had played Bond before him, but it was a fully realized character, with emotions, tough choices and real acting involved. Plus, "Casino Royale" is a fine film, co-written by Oscar-winner Paul Haggis and featuring an excellent supporting performance from another Oscar-winner, Judi Dench, among others.

I am not suggesting that Craig win the Oscar -- that should be Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland." But Craig should be one of the five nominated.

Can you name five better, more charismatic and riveting male performances in a 2006 movie?

Here's the 10 actors nominated for the Golden Globes: For drama, Whitaker, Leonardo DiCaprio twice (for "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed"), Peter O'Toole ("Venus") and Will Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness"); for comedy, Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat"), Johnny Depp ("Pirates II"), Aaron Eckhart ("Thank You for Smoking"), Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Kinky Boots") and Will Ferrell ("Stranger Than Fiction").

Here's the five actors nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards: DiCaprio ("Blood Diamond"), Ryan Gosling ("Half Nelson"), O'Toole, Smith and Whitaker.

My five: Whitaker, Craig, Gosling, DiCaprio ("The Departed")and Cohen. Just missed the cut -- Brad Pitt ("Babel") Clive Owen ("Children of Men"), Matt Damon (either "The Departed" or "The Good Shepherd").

There is precedent for Craig, both in perfecting a role previously played by others and as an action star. For one, O'Toole was nominated for playing Henry II in "The Lion in Winter" in 1968 just four years after many thought Richard Burton defined the role in "Becket." For two, Sigourney Weaver was nominated as the hero of a kick-ass action film in 1986 for "Aliens" -- which was also a sequel.

So don't be shy, voters! On your ballots, the name is Craig. Daniel Craig.

Posted By: G. Allen Johnson (Email) | January 08 2007 at 09:09 PM

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