Daniel Craig: Best movies (not including James Bond)

01 of 05

Daniel Craig: His Best Non-Bond Films

Daniel Craig/ Logan Lucky — John Stillwell/PA Images via Getty Images; Amazon/Everett Collection

Daniel Craig leaves his licence to kill behind in Steven Soderbergh's just-released film, Logan Lucky, which finds the James Bond star playing a Southern safe cracker aptly named Joe Bang. It's not the first time Craig has ditched his tailored tuxedo behind for a role -- and it won't be his last. But before Craig reprises his 007 role in next year's 25th installment of the long-running spy series, here are a quartet of other non-Bond films to watch, shaken or stirred. -- Clark Collis, Joe McGovern, Christian Holub

02 of 05

Layer Cake (2004)

LAYER CAKE, Daniel Craig, 2004, (c) Sony Pictures Classics/courtesy Everett Collection — Sony Pictures Classics/Everett Collection

Craig is unforgettable as a British drug dealer who regards himself as a businessman but winds up in a great deal of trouble with the gangster underworld. With the actor exuding a cool stoicism, Layer Cake can be viewed as a feature-length audition tape for the role of 007, but Matthew Vaughn's directorial debut is still a great watch in its own right.

03 of 05

Munich (2005)

In Steven Spielberg’s breakneck action film about the 1972 Olympic massacre and its aftermath, Craig plays a Jewish South African hired by the Israeli government for an assassination mission. The actor has never looked stronger (or blonder) onscreen -- not even one year later as 007 in his first Bond movie, Casino Royale -- and his performance serves intentionally as a big flex of Hebrew muscle.

04 of 05

Defiance (2008)

DEFIANCE, Daniel Craig, 2008. ©Paramount Vantage/Courtesy Everett Collection — Everett Collection

Ed Zwick's film is based on the remarkable true tale of how a group of Belarusian Jews fought back against occupying German forces during World War II. As one several brothers who lead the resistance, Craig holds his own in a cast which also includes Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell.

05 of 05

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, from left: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, 2011. ph: Merrick Morton/©Col — Merrick Morton/Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection

In director David Fincher's adaptation of Stieg Larsson's bestselling novel, Craig plays played embattled journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who instead of facing down cool supervillains in exotic locales, hunts Nazis in the icy darkness of Sweden. The actor's steadfast determination gives the film its steel spine.

4 Non Bonds: Daniel Craig's Best Martini-Free Movies

Daniel Craig: His Best Non-Bond Films

Layer Cake (2004)

Munich (2005)

Defiance (2008)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

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