After ending his run as the world’s most famous spy in 2021, Daniel Craig continues to uphold his elite status as both an A-list leading man and a menswear god. Two years after bidding adieu to Agent 007, Craig’s turn as the nattily-dressed, cigar-chomping detective Benoit Blanc has opened a new chapter in his acting career. His collection of crisply-tailored Savile Row suits and rare Omega watches, meanwhile, has taken his fits to new heights. Lately, however, Craig’s long-standing commitment to extremely high-and-tight haircuts has unexpectedly given way to a new head of floppy locks.
In late September, Craig debuted a shorter version of his new ‘do at the Amal Clooney Foundation For Justice’s second annual Albie Awards, deftly paired with an Anderson and Sheppard tux and a pair of tinted Caddis aviator frames. When, earlier this month, Craig stepped into the Planet Omega exhibition in NYC sporting an even longer, shaggier mane and a pair of Lennon-esque oval specs, he confirmed that his new haircut was no Jimmy Butler-style one-off. The look, which falls somewhere between Amherst lit professor and Ralphie Cifaretto, is likely part of Craig’s look for his role as beat poet William Burroughs in the upcoming film, QUEER, but people nonetheless have opinions.
The reaction to Craig’s loose, professorial quaff was as swift as it was divisive. Fans of Knives Out applauded it on Instagram as the next phase of Craig’s transformation from Tom Ford-clad British secret agent to fez-wearing southern dandy. Die-hard Bond fans, meanwhile, took to Reddit, calling the look “sloppy” and comparing him (favorably?) to “a European leader attending a meeting in Brussels.” On the watch blog Hodinkee, where a new Rolex dial color can incite dozens of impassioned hot takes, Craig’s hair even managed to overshadow the as-yet-unannounced white dial Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch on his wrist.
Whether Craig’s shaggy coif is part of a character or he’s simply trying out a new look for awards season, the move is not without precedent. Brad Pitt sported a flowy mane for the Bullet Train premiere, which almost managed to draw focus from his epic pleated skirt, while Ryan Gosling showed off a set of tousled locks to announce his upcoming The Fall Guy. Then there’s Chris Pine, who has made a surfer-style bob a part of his ever-freakier brand in recent years.
As anyone who’s ever grown out their hair can tell you, the road from high-and-tight to perfect flow is a long and winding one, with many awkward stretches and weird hair days in between. The key, as with any aspect of your look, is to own it. As Daniel Craig has proved throughout his career (and mostly memorably in that Taika Waititi-directed vodka ad) the man knows how to own a look. Of course, a beautifully cut suit and a pair of quirky glasses never hurts.