The James Bond movies are home to some of the most spectacular stunts anyone has ever seen captured on film. Whether it’s record-setting explosions like the one in No Time To Die, or even just Daniel Craig fighting his opponents, it’s a beautiful thing to see what each 007 movie does to push the envelope. Keeping that in mind, if you’ve ever wondered how Craig’s big swan song pulled off part of its epic opening, trainer Simon Waterson has you covered.
Simon Waterson certainly knows a thing or two about the physical demands of the James Bond series -- and how they’ve evolved over time. Starting as a trainer on the franchise during the Pierce Brosnan era of 007, Waterson joined the Bond family on The World is Not Enough. Sticking with the films right through to No Time To Die, the man has spent most of his career in the series with Daniel Craig’s Commander Bond. Which leads us to this post from the franchise's official Instagram, in which Waterson choreograph’s Craig’s big bridge jump in the cold open:
The reel above walks through that moment from the 25th 007 adventure when, just as Bond is trying to put the past to rest, the man almost finds himself being murdered at a cemetery. One of the highlights of that sequence, which was naturally shown in tons of publicity materials for the latest Bond feature, is when the super spy jumps off a bridge and swings to relative safety.
Every moment of what looks like natural evasion tactics is walked through and talked out by Simon Waterson. Working closely with Daniel Craig since Casino Royale, that fateful day the actor showed up with a cigarette, a bacon sandwich, and an attitude to change has paid off for over a decade of movies. Waterson was there every step of the way, keeping those insane No Time To Die workouts fun and flexible for the leading man in the tuxedo. It’s a process that’s allowed Waterson to share even more of those insights in a book he published earlier this year, Intelligent Fitness: The Smart Way to Reboot Your Body and Get in Shape.
It’s a pretty important year for the James Bond legacy, as the 60th anniversary of the franchise is being celebrated in the post-No Time To Die afterglow. And the veteran trainer has made a huge contribution to that legacy, beefing up Bond in a way that hasn’t been seen in past adventures.
Just as we’re celebrating 007’s reign within movie history, we should also take time throughout the 60th anniversary to raise our martinis to those who crush it behind the scenes of every one of his adventures. If you want to learn more about Simon Waterson’s Hollywood exercises, for Bond and beyond, check out Intelligent Fitness: The Smart Way to Reboot Your Body and Get in Shape; available wherever you buy your reading materials.
Also, the 2022 movie releases are calling at a theater near you; some of which have seen Waterson’s physical prowess help stars like Jurassic World: Dominion’s Bryce Dallas Howard get into similar shape. Last, but not least, you can revisit the Daniel Craig era of James Bond, thanks to Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace streaming with the use of a Netflix subscription, at the time of this writing.
