Daniel Craig Buys London Pub, Jests About Ghostly Co-Owner
The actor has become a co-owner of a historic London pub, joining three business partners and reportedly a resident ghost.
Actor Daniel Craig has become a co-owner of The Horseshoe, a 250-year-old pub located in Clerkenwell, London. Craig is partnered with Soho House owner Nick Jones, Flat Iron steakhouse founder Charlie Carroll, and Justin O’Shea, creative director of Craig's lager brand, Bad Behaviour.
According to reports, the pub comes with a spectral resident: a hangman's ghost said to haunt the cellar. Retiring landlady Pauline Tucker reportedly did not mention the ghost during the initial sale, but the new owners have since been informed.
Tucker described the ghost, known as Gilbert, as someone who "You don’t see him. You feel him." Craig reportedly joked about the ghost, saying, "I don’t know what he drinks but we might have to leave a pint down there: 'Here you are Gilbert'."
Craig's foray into pub ownership follows in the footsteps of his parents and grandparents, who also ran pubs in Cheshire. He recalled spending his childhood in family pubs, experiencing "lock-ins" and parties, particularly on New Year's Eve. "I grew up in pubs. You know the ups and downs of a pub. I know the good and the bad of it," Craig told The Times. He added that as a child, he would talk to locals in the pubs, seeing them as a place for people to connect and discuss their lives.
While Craig plans to refurbish The Horseshoe, he has indicated that it will not be transformed into a modern gastropub. The actor has several projects in the works following his departure from the James Bond role. He is slated to appear in Greta Gerwig's adaptation of C.S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia" as magician Uncle Andrew Ketterley.
Speculation continues regarding Craig's successor as James Bond. Five years after his final appearance as the character, the role remains uncast. Names such as Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, Harris Dickinson, Jack Barton, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have been mentioned as potential candidates. Amazon MGM Studios acquired full control of the James Bond franchise last year and is reportedly in the process of casting for the next installment, with an announcement anticipated this autumn. Filming for the next film could begin at the start of the new year.