DAN'S THE MAN; INTERVIEW DANIEL CRAIG SPEAKS FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT PLAYING JAMES BOND.

Byline: By JOHN HISCOCK

He was in a supermarket in Baltimore when the telephone call came that was to change his life. It was from James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli who merely said, "It's over to you kiddo". After months of waiting and uncertainty, it meant that Daniel Craig had landed the coveted role as James Bond in the new 007 adventure Casino Royale.

He quickly added a bottle of Grey Goose vodka to his basket and then, as he puts it, "got blindingly drunk on vodka martinis". It wasn't the first time Craig, 38, had been offered the role. He'd been approached about a year earlier, but turned it down.

"I walked away because there was no script and I didn't know if I was ready to be James Bond," he says. "But then later Barbara made me an offer which I couldn't refuse - a great script. I didn't want to be sitting down in five years time regretting not doing it. It could have been a poisoned chalice if it hadn't worked out, but then so could most big decisions.

"When I was a child I dreamed of being James Bond or Spiderman or Superman. It was part of growing up, but in my professional life it was never on my radar."

Speaking for the first time about his life as the rough, tough, new-look 007, Daniel certainly looks the part, relaxing in his New York hotel suite in a dark Ralph Lauren suit, a light blue Turnbull & Asser shirt and the Omega wristwatch he wore in the film.

"I'm very lucky I am given such nice things to wear," he comments dryly.

Upbeat and cheerful, Daniel is clearly pleased with the early reaction to Casino Royale. He has signed on for two more Bond films and feels he has proved his point to the fans who were furiously opposed to him stepping into Pierce Brosnan's shoes saying he was blonde and was too short.

Websites were launched for the sole purpose of blasting him and there were reports that Daniel couldn't drive the new Aston Martin, that he got his teeth got knocked out in a fight scene, and that he suffered from sunburn in the Bahamas. Not a word of it was true.

"I was affected by it. Of course I was," he admits. "What bothered me was that I was being criticised before I had done the work. My response was, 'See the movie and then you have the right to criticise'."

Daniel, who was born in Chester and brought up in Hoylake, near Liverpool, is undoubtedly the most qualified actor of the five who have previously played Bond. He trained at the National Youth Theatre and later graduated from the Guildhall School Of Music And Drama. He made his film debut in the 1992 coming-of-age drama The Power Of One and became known in Britain for his role in the acclaimed BBC series Our Friends In The North.

Craig made the jump to Hollywood in 2001 in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider alongside Angelina Jolie, before appearing with Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in The Road To Perdition. But it was his role as a cocaine dealer in Layer Cake (2004) which started the Bond rumours flowing.

James Bond is a great womaniser and it seems Craig has the right credentials in that department. He has a 13-year-old daughter from a two-year marriage to Scottish actress Fiona Loudon, which ended in 1994. He also had a seven-year relationship with actress Heike Makatsch, before dating Kate Moss and having a brief but highly-publicised liaison with Sienna Miller. He is now involved with an American producer, Satsuki Mitchell.

But from the moment his casting as Bond was announced in October last year, Daniel has had little time for anything but work. He dedicated himself to spending hours each day in the gym so he really looked the part, a regimen he continued in the evenings during the six months the film was shooting in the Czech Republic, the Bahamas and Venice.

Daniel also watched every Bond movie at least twice and read all author Ian Fleming's 007 books.

"I didn't want to miss a trick," he says. "But then I pushed it all behind me because I wanted to take it in a new direction and move forward. That responsibility was very, very strong in my mind."

His favourite films are Dr No and From Russia With Love, and there is no doubt about his favourite Bond actor.

"Sean Connery set and defined the character all those years ago," says Daniel. "He did something extraordinary with that role. He was bad, sexy, animalistic and stylish - and it is because of him that I am here today."

Connery himself sent Daniel a message of support which, he says, meant a great deal. But the reality of shooting Casino Royale turned out to be gruelling.

"I wanted to do as much of the action work as I could so that the audience can see it's me and it's real," he says. "I had black eyes, I had cuts, I was bruised. I had muscle strains and I took a lot of painkillers - but it was part of the job. I want to continue with Bond as long as it feels right and I am very keen to do the next one."

Aside from 007, Craig has The Visiting with Nicole Kidman awaiting release and he is currently working with her again on His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. Then it will be back to Bond, a role he could be associated with forever.

"I hope it's going to be liberating," Daniel smiles. "I'm not putting any negative spin on this because to be typecast as James Bond is a very high-class problem for an actor. Of course, I am always going to think about whether it is going to limit what I do - but I plan for it not to."

He has also experienced the full force of a worldwide marketing juggernaut as he embarked on a lengthy publicity and promotional tour, but Daniel is confident that his new Bond image will not affect him as a person.

"Nothing has changed yet," he says with confidence. "I have very good friends and a very close family. They'll keep a close eye on me and knock me back if I change too much."

Casino Royale is released today.

When I was a child I dreamed of being James Bond or Superman

CAPTION(S):

SUITED TO THE ROLE: Craig in Casino Royale' TALKING POINT: Dan's role in Layer Cake started the 007 rumours' OLD FLAME: With Heike Makatsch' BRIEF FLING: Sienna Miller' NEW LOVE: With Satsuki Mitchell