LONDON -- Already enmeshed in one film franchise, Daniel Craig staked his claim on another even as he was filming his James Bond debut Casino Royale.

"There was no plan," says Craig, who plays Lord Asriel, the scientist uncle-and-father-figure of the heroine Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) in The Golden Compass, the first film of Philip Pullman's suddenly-controversial His Dark Materials trilogy.

"People were already asking me, 'Are you going to be typecast as Bond?' And I'd say, 'Well, that's a high-class problem to have, isn't it?

"But I was a big fan of the (His Dark Materials) books, and there was a break while I was filming Bond, and I phoned up one of the producers I knew personally and asked, 'What's the deal? What's going on? Can I get in on it?' "

Hyped as the next Harry Potter phenomenon in the publishing world (with sales of more than 10 million so far), the trilogy of books by Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) takes place in a parallel Earth much like ours, except for some differences in technology and for the fact that every human's soul lives in an animal familiar called a daemon that never leaves his or her side.

Though the interpretation of the world is strictly proscribed by an all-encompassing organization called The Magisterium, Lord Asriel has discovered the truth, that there are many parallel universes and that they are all connected by a substance called "dust." Moreover, there are indications that Lyra is the "chosen one" who is fated to connect the worlds. All of this is heresy, of course, and the Magisterium assigns one of its nastiest agents, Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman) to stop Lyra and Lord Asriel in their trek North to both find the "dust" and put an end to the unexplained mass kidnapping of children by a mysterious Magisterium-related organization called Gobblers.

And, oh yeah, there's a race of armoured, war-like polar bears, destined to play an important part in the saga.

Of course, the fact that Pullman is an acknowledged atheist and the fact that the Magisterium is easily interpreted as a metaphor for the Catholic Church has led to plenty of controversy, including the "anti-God" and discussions of a similar ban by the Dufferin-Peel school board, outside Toronto.

Craig is troubled by such talk. "I believe the books are not anti-religious, they're anti-misuse of power. The opposition to these books is always going to be there. But I genuinely believe the morals in the books are genuinely secure and strong and good for children. It is about being honest and truthful."

Which is what attracted him to the role of Lord Asriel. "His passion is he's an explorer and scientist and he believes the more knowledge you have, the freer you can be.

"Actually, I think that these books, if they all succeed and come out as movies, will do the Church a world of good. Dan Brown's book (The DaVinci Code) proves that, because it gets people talking and thinking about their faith."

And if The Golden Compass is the hit the studio thinks it can be, Craig is signed on for two more, Lord Asriel and Lyra's continuing adventures being key to the story arc.

A few years ago, of course, Craig would have been just another fan of Pullman's books instead of one of its most famous and influential supporters (the Archbishop Of Canterbury, incidentally, is another). Becoming the newest incarnation of Ian Fleming's MI-6 Agent James Bond in 2006's Casino Royale has changed the life of this long-time British theatre actor, mostly for the better.

One downside, it's put a crimp in his pubbing. He estimates 15 minutes in one before the attention becomes too much to handle. About time enough for a pint, it's suggested. "Oh, that's not just one pint," he says with a laugh, "I can do ... oh, I don't know, how many. I'm pretty good at it. It depends where I am, but after a while it's not comfortable to be there, which is a shame, 'cause I like drinking in pubs."

Otherwise, he says he's more than happy with the position he's in. "The story's not yet told as far as I'm concerned. Let's talk about this when I've done another two (Bonds) and it may not be so rosy. But my plan is we've got this next film to make, and we've got to make a better film than we did the last time.

He's currently in rehearsals for a film known only as Bond 22, the script for which was delivered by Canadian Paul Haggis just before the current Writers Guild Of America strike. Shooting starts in earnest at England's Pinewood Studios on Jan. 4.

"I've been apprised of the script pretty much all the way, and if I'm not, I'm on the phone asking why. We've got Marc Forster (The Kite Runner) on board, and we've got Dennis Gassner, the designer from The Golden Compass. So there will be a change of look and the feel of the movie is there. Basically, it's ours to (screw) up," he says.

Craig admits he wasn't in Bond form physically for some time after the release of Casino Royale. "We were travelling everywhere and we were invited to such fine restaurants, it would have been rude of me not to partake so I did, y'know. I've been trying to keep fit, I had this job in Lithuania, and I've been working out full bore every day lately," says the frankly fit-looking Bond.

The job in Lithuania was a movie called Defiance, directed by Ed Zwick. "It's the true story of these Jewish brothers during the Second World War in Bielorussia who organize a partisan force within the forest. One of the brothers decides he doesn't want to fight anymore and wants to rescue people instead. So at the end of the war, he walks out of the forest with 1,200 people from the ghettos, who'd survived in the forest on the run until they'd created a camp with schools and synagogues. It's an amazing story."

And it's an example of the kind of movie Craig is able to make with the cachet of Bond.

Another is Flashbacks of a Fool, which he also filmed this year, "it's a movie my best friend (Baillie Walsh) wrote (about a has-been actor who lives his life in flashbacks at his best friend's funeral). We've wanted to make it for about five years. And doing Bond gave us the extra clout to get the money for it.

"Bond has given me the chance for more choices. Now, if I have the time, I want to do films that interest me and not necessarily films that huge numbers of people are going to see.

"I'm trying to convince people to make films about feelings and emotions, and not necessarily huge explosions and sultry women."

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