Right. Quantum Of Solace is almost here and we cannot wait! What can we expect?
We're kicking off where Casino Royale left off. But it's very different. The look in particular is so different - we've been filming in Peru, Panama and Chile, which all have a unique visual feel. It's a new spin, it looks so stunning and works on camera. Genuinely. There's some amazing stuff to come for the fans.

Be honest: are you feeling the pressure with this film more or less than with your Bond debut Casino Royale?
As much as before, because people reacted beyond anything we thought they would. We always knew we had a great movie, but who knew people would respond like that? My feeling is we owe it to those people who saw the last movie to give them something even better.

You've snogged some of the world's sexiest actresses - Angelina Jolie, Sienna Miller, Eva Green in Casino and now Gemma Arterton in Quantum. Acting's a tough job, isn't it?
I've been very lucky! They're all incredibly beautiful girls. You're at your best when you're having fun with who you're opposite. It makes it more exciting. Gemma is a rising star and yes, we've done a little kiss. That was nice!

And what about the sex scenes?
You can never feel comfortable. You're still in a sex scene where there are 10 people in the room who you don't know that well. So you're not exactly feeling sexy. Unless you get a kick out of that! Some people do, but I don't.

You do a lot of your own stunts -are you a double-hard actor?
I'm pushing myself as hard as I can. I've had black eyes, cuts, bruises. I even injured my Achilles! Jumping from great heights hurts a lot, but I did that quite often. As a kid, I actually wanted to be a stuntman because I liked falling off my bike! I was always bleeding!

How did you get in shape for Quantum Of Solace? Did you hit the gun shop hard?
No, I trained very differently this time around. For Casino I bulked up and got big, because I wanted Bond to look like someone who had just dropped out of the army. But now, as we're moving on, I needed to get fitter in a different way. I had an awful lot of physical activity to do and I needed to last in this film, so I went to the gym. But it's not like I'm trying to be sexy! It's because when Bond takes his shirt off, it should look like he could kill someone, not like he's been in the pub for two months!

Do you survive on a hamster food diet during filming?
No. I don't diet. I never diet. I work out but I don't diet, otherwise life would just be awful!

How do you kick back when you're not silencing enemies of the state for HM's Secret Service?
I like to enjoy myself, live quietly and have a good time. I go to pubs, spend time with friends. I like going to France, eating good food and drinking lots of wine! And I'm a big rugby fan.

And presumably you enjoy the odd Martini? Shaken not stirred, naturally...
If you can find a good one, there's nothing better! I know how to make a good one from working in bars years ago. I'm quite particular.

Acting sounds awesome. How can a ZOO reader get into it?
I did three years at a school of music and drama, where they teach you that... you're not going to get employed! Ninety-eight per cent of actors are unemployed. And you're probably just going to join that queue. It didn't happen like that for me, thankfully. But the main thing I got out of acting training was to get out of bed in the morning and take it seriously. Which I eventually did!

And by "take it seriously", you mean being paid a rumoured £5m in Quantum to run about in a tux, shooting people and boning hot chicks?
It's very poor taste to talk about money. Maybe it's British reserve. Needless to say, I'm very happy with my deal. The money does interest me, yes. But it's not my cause in life. I've turned down offers for jobs which could have paid a lot of money.

What about life after 007? Do you see yourself giving it up?
I'm not living or dying with the whole Bond thing. I know who I am and what my life is about, and I'm going to be a happy man regardless. I've never been one of those suffering, artistic types!

Finally - and only because all our ZOO cover girls asked - will you ever squeeze into those obscene Casino trunks again?
I'm not going to put those trunks on ever again!

PUB FACT: The theme for Quantum Of Solace will be Another Way To Die, performed by Alicia Keys and Jack White

| Quantum Of Solace is released on 31 October.