Daniel Craig’s personal trainer has dished on the work that went into creating the iconic topless scene in Casino Royale and also kept him in shape to play James Bond for 15 years.
Trainer to the A-listers, Simon Waterson, appeared on This Morning on Wednesday to discuss the scene in which Daniel Craig emerges dripping from the ocean, turning the latest Bond star into an international sex symbol.
But when Waterson first met Craig 16 years ago, he said he had a bacon sandwich in one hand and a roll-up in the other and that it was “a lot of hard work” to get to the eye-popping Bond scene.
Over a dinner in Washington, the pair discussed how they would structure the fitness regime - as Waterson told This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes that it took around eight months for him to get in movie star shape.
He said: “We started the process when we went out for dinner and he broke down what he would want to look like.
“There’s the aesthetic side as well as the athletic side. He’s got to be able to perform as well as look amazing.
“He had a very firm vision of what he wanted to do and how he wanted to make the character physically strong as well as mentally strong - but also evolve it through five movies.
“He trusted me to say I don't really want a trainer, I want a training partner, so let's do this together. So his pain was my pain.”
When the ITV studio played the Bond clip, Waterson said he was a “little bit emotional” watching it, saying: “Just because of the hard work that went into that particular scene. It’s a long road to get to that and to look like that.”
Offering viewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Casino Royale beach set that day, he said Craig’s physique was a “big reveal” and that nobody knew what was hidden under his bathrobe until the last possible moment.
Waterson said: “I got him so his physique was there and had to look like that for hours, so I’d done a bit of carb depletion and water manipulation, so it really does look perfect for that particular scene - but it can all dissipate within hours sometimes.
“He came out in his robe and no one had seen what he looked like. He took his robe off and then there was complete silence.”
Bond producer Barbara Broccoli reportedly told him: “Oh, you’re very clever aren’t you”.
While the transformation took around eight months for the first film, Waterson said this became longer as Craig got older.
Phillip Schofield said: “Obviously, you must be paid a fortune, you’re getting actors at the top of their game ready for scenes and that’s very specific.
“They’ve got the company who's got the money to pay for the food and the time.
“If you’re sitting on your sofa now, is it even remotely possible for us to look anything like that?”
Waterson replied: “I don’t know if you want to look exactly like that. You have to go on your own journey.
“I’ve fused film and fitness together to give inspiring stories and I think that’s the most important thing - be inspired by these people, don’t try and emulate them too much because you can’t be that.
“It’s a necessity - the film companies now want them to do all their own stunts, its incredible athletic, the hours are incredibly hardcore.
“It's six day weeks and it's graft, graft, graft all the time. You’ve got to be fit to complete the movie, not just look good in it.”
Waterson’s parting advice was to set “parameters” rather than “hard and fast rules”.
He said: “You’re just setting yourself up for failure. So, be kind to yourself.”
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV and ITV Hub.
