I genuinely was just such a fan of the books. When I heard that this was on the cards, I've got to do this; I've got to get involved with this. I'm such a Philip Pullman fan and actually his philosophies, morals and the way he looks at the world. He does what he does brilliantly as a writer. He writes children's stories with major adult themes and major ideas about making the right choices.

I never really had a strong accent.

I love vodka martinis. I know it's a cliché.

It's a huge challenge, a huge responsibility. Bond is a huge iconic figure in movie history. These opportunities don't come along very often so I thought, 'Why not?'

I just think that the collective experience of going to see a film is something you can't recreate.

The last thing on earth I wanted was to make a Bond movie.

I'm not averse to earning someone; in fact I'd love to earn some money. But also my choices of movies don't tend to make money but I get to make interesting films. But it doesn't mean I don't want to earn shitloads of cash.