The word is not enough for dyslexic James Bond
Craig battles to read film scripts
JAMES Bond legend Daniel Craig has revealed the biggest baddie he battled wasn’t just in the script… it WAS the script.
The actor who released his final 007 movie last year, says he is probably dyslexic.
Craig, 53, told how he struggled with audition scripts and is “the world’s worst reader”.
His comments were last night hailed by the Dyslexic Association for giving hope to other sufferers. Craig revealed how his tryout for the 2002 movie Road to Perdition led to him stumbling with words in front of director Sam Mendes.
He told showbiz podcast Awards Chatter: “I’m probably a bit dyslexic. I did this reading and he said, ‘That was terrible, but I’ll give you the part as you’ve come all this way’.” Dyslexia Association chief Dee Caunt said: “He is probably
someone who recognises things he struggles with, yet he’s developed strategies to succeed. He found ways of overcoming it.
“We have pictures of famous people from Albert Einstein to Eddie Izzard on our office walls – and we’ve got a nineyear-old coming today to be assessed.
“It’s important to say, ‘Here are some dyslexic people. It doesn’t mean you won’t be successful, you may just have to find ways around it’.
“Ten per cent of the population is dyslexic, but not everybody will struggle. For some, the effect will only be seen in a minor way where they just have to work a little harder.” The condition can affect reading, writing, spelling, shortterm memory, maths or, as dyspraxia, organisational abilities.
Meanwhile, there is no shortage of dyslexic spies in real life, either. Britain’s ‘listening post’ GCHQ has hired more than 100 dyslexic and dyspraxic intelligence staff who are good at analysing complex information in a logical way.
Dyslexics often exhibit remarkable spatial perceptions, fine motor dexterity and an ability to focus intensely.
Alan Turing, who built a computer to break the Nazis’ Enigma code during the Second World War, was dyslexic.