He said: "If I went on to the internet and started looking at what some people were saying about me, it would drive me insane.

"They hate me, they don’t think I’m right for the role but I wish they’d reserve judgment. I watched every single Bond movie three or four times, taking everything I could about how the character had been portrayed in the past."

The 38-year-old actor insists people will be pleasantly surprised when they see the finished film because he has deliberately taken the character in a different direction to previous Bond stars.

He said: "There’s no point in making this movie unless it’s different.
"It’d be a waste of time unless we took Bond to a place he’d never been before."

Daniel is to make a second James Bond film - July 21, 2020
Daniel Craig is to make a second James Bond film. The actor - who stars as 007 in new movie ’Casino Royale’ - has already agreed to reprise his role as the suave spy with Sony Pictures, even though his first adventure isn’t released until November.

Producer Michael G Wilson said: "As we wrap production on ’Casino Royale’, we couldn’t be more excited about the direction the franchise is heading with Daniel Craig. "Daniel has taken the origins of Ian Fleming’s James Bond portraying, with emotional complexity, a darker and edgier 007."

The 38-year-old actor, who was chosen to replace Pierce Brosnan in the role last year, has faced criticism from some fans because he has blond hair, can’t drive a manual car and doesn’t like drinking martinis - Bond’s favourite tipple. However, new Bond girl Caterina Murino insists Craig is a more realistic secret agent than his predecessors. She said: "This James Bond doesn’t look like a little cartoon like before, like the last one or so charming and playful like the first James Bond. This is new." Craig’s second outing as the British super spy is scheduled to be released in 2008.

Daniel Craig is terrified of guns - Oct 26 2005
Daniel Craig has admitted he is struggling to overcome his biggest fear to play James Bond - he’s terrified of guns. The hunky actor will have to handle weapons to play the dashing spy in the next Bond movie, but says he was left petrified after seeing a real life bullet wound.

The star told OK! magazine: "I hate handguns. They are used to shooting people and as long as they are around, people will shoot each other. "I’ve seen a bullet wound and it was a mess." The ’Layer Cake’ actor also confessed he doesn’t even like 007’s top tipple - Martini shaken, not stirred. He revealed: "I don’t think anybody makes a Martini stirred any more."

Earlier this month it was revealed the 37-year-old is set to have his manhood whacked with a carpet-beater in the new film. The nasty torture scene sees 007’s enemy, Le Chiffre, "tenderise" the dashing spy’s private parts with a cane carpet-beater. The episode is one of the most well-known moments in Ian Fleming’s spy thriller ’Casino Royale’ - and film bosses are determined to stick to the book.