You can take the man out of a Bond film, but can you take Bond, James, Bond out of the man? Yes, if that man is consummate actor Daniel Craig, who says that it was easy to explore body snatching with Nicole Kidman in next weekend's "Invasion," a remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."

Bond who?

"People keep asking if I can do other things and put Bond behind me now," Craig muses. "Honestly, I can and this is a very high-class problem to have in your life. I'm not looking for ways to counter Bond," says Craig.

In "The Invasion," Kidman plays a mom and Washington, D.C., shrink who, along with her love interest, Craig, is trying to protect her son from an airborne problem that causes alien mutation. "It's entertainment, but it also makes you think," Craig says of the plot.

What's next besides a future Bond? "After these films, I'll have to play a wimp with a heart. I think that's a good idea," he says.

It's not in the cards because on his slate is "Bond 22."

1 "The Invasion" is packed with action. How have action films changed for you lately?

Just look at "The Bourne" series, which are superb movies. They've kind of brought things to a grittier way, which I really appreciate in an action hero. I like to see these people really dig in. I also like the old Michael Caine spy movies that they were doing in the '60s. The landscape has [also] changed politically, but I don't think we're any less confused then we ever were. That's why people love good action or sci-fi films or even the James Bond series. We want action heroes who might not know all the answers, but at least they know who the bad guy is and can try to get him or them.

2 What can you tell us about your upcoming film "The Golden Compass," where you play Lord Asriel?

It's fantastic. Those are some of my favorite books -- the Phillip Pullman trilogy. They're fantastic children's books about love and growing up. They're also about how as adults we should see the world from a child's point of view and remember that growing up is one of the toughest things that we'll ever do. My character is kind of single-minded and is trying to achieve something because he believes that without any change in the world, the world won't move on.

3 How does your family feel about all this hoopla with your career?

It's a huge deal, but they're very proud of me and seem to be very happy. I've been acting a long time now and so it's not like I haven't been doing things and they haven't noticed things. This is a big deal, but this hasn't come out of the blue.

4 Do you let yourself go after a film like Bond?

I went on holiday and I let myself go in a lot of ways, but that was just because we were in France and eating good food and drinking a lot of wine. I've kept up going to the gym, but not quite as intensely as I was doing before. Frankly, it's nice to just sit back for a minute and just enjoy your life.

5 Where would you like to see Bond go next?

Well, I think that we've set up an idea now that there's an organization out there. He also has to deal with revenge because he has lost the girl. I think the process [of how he becomes Bond] is still happening. We haven't finished the [story] arc. Bond is still maybe too headstrong and he doesn't make all of the right decisions. I want to continue what we've set up in the last movie. We made a good movie and I just want another good movie.

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