Beautiful Eva Green plays the woman who captures James Bond’s heart in Casino Royale.

“One of the things that makes this Bond different is that it’s a love story as well as a big action movie,” says the 26-year-old French actress.

Eva plays Vesper Lynd an accountant working for the treasury who is sent to keep a close watch on the government money that Bond – played by Daniel Craig – is using in a high stakes poker game.

“He’s basically trying to trap a man called Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who launders money for terrorists and has a weakness for gambling,” explains Eva

“Vesper is an accountant and she works for the treasury and she goes on this mission with Bond to make sure the money she is in charge of is not going to be squandered.

“It’s a very well written script and it’s very, very clever. I mean, they are quite aggressive with each other at the beginning, in a playful way. And then they start falling in love and it’s quite intimate, tender, gentle and I think people have never seen Bond like that before, he’s so raw and fragile. I’m sure girls will like it.”

Eva was recruited to join the Casino Royale production relatively late, joining director Martin Campbell and his cast and crew as they were just about to start filming in The Bahamas in February.

“And I was like ‘oh my God! I’m not prepared! I haven’t worked on it..’ It was quite mad but very exciting. But when I got to The Bahamas there was a couple of weeks where I didn’t have a lot to do and I got to know Daniel (Craig) and Martin (Campbell) and I worked with my dialogue coach, so it wasn’t overwhelming and straight into a big scene on day one.”

Unexpectedly, Eva enjoyed the physical challenges that her role as Vesper provided. She was left a little bruised after some scenes but exhilarated, too.

“She is not really an action lady, she is more cerebral. But I had to do some physical stuff, like running up the stairs with high heels and dodging knives! And I’m not very physical so that was very interesting. I had a lot of bruises. And I also had to learn diving which was a wonderful experience. I felt so comfortable in the water, which was quite weird!” she laughs.

She remembers watching Bond films as a youngster growing up in her native Paris and says that even though Casino Royale was a huge production with locations all over the world – the Czech Republic, Italy, Nassau, the UK – and a big cast and crew, the atmosphere on set was tight knit and close.

“It’s a big Bond machine and there is a lot of publicity around it but on set it could be any other movie, it’s like family and it’s nice and it’s intimate,” she says.

She worked closely with Daniel Craig who was making his debut as the new 007. And Eva, an admirer of Craig’s work before she had met him, came away even more impressed.

“Oh he’s wonderful. He is also very charming, dangerous and tender – which is quite attractive I’ve always liked him as an actor and I think it’s such a great choice.

“He’s unusual for Bond I think, but he will bring another dimension because he is so rough and not mannered. But for a man, I think. I love him as an actor.”

Eva, who has a non identical twin sister, Joy, first discovered acting at school in Paris. Her mother, Marlene Jobert, was an actress before becoming a children’s author. “But if anything my mother sounded a note of caution,” she says. “She warned me that it can be a tough profession.”

After drama school in Paris, Eva landed some stage work in France before Bernardo Bertolucci cast her in The Dreamers alongside Michael Pitt and Louis Garrel.

“It was amazing, the best experience ever – Bertolucci, the actors, the whole thing,” she says.

“Bertolucci loves actors and I don’t know, it was magical. And I felt like I was being a teenager. I was never really a teenager – I was always quite serious and I was never going to be the kind of person who would go crazy easily. It was quite a challenge but I loved everything about it.”

She then won the part of Sibylla in Ridley Scott’s epic Kingdom of Heaven, starring opposite Orlando Bloom, and will soon start filming His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, playing Serafina Pekkala, the witch.

Eva divides her time between Paris and London. This interview was conducted on her last day on the Bond set, on a private airfield near Guildford, Surrey, England, which will double as airside at Miami Airport.

Casino Royale is the 21st Bond movie and is loosely based on Ian Fleming’s first novel to feature 007.

Q: When did you first hear that you had the role?
A: It was in February and they flew me out to The Bahamas straight away. It was last minute because the movie started in January and they were still looking for Vesper. I don’t know why that happened.

Q: So the call came and it was ‘can you come now?’

A: Yes, and I was like ‘oh my God! I’m not prepared! I haven’t worked on it..’ It was quite mad but very exciting. And when I got to The Bahamas there was a couple of weeks where I didn’t have a lot to do and I got to know Daniel (Craig) and Martin (Campbell) and I worked with my dialogue coach so it wasn’t overwhelming and straight into a big scene on day one.

Q: Is the character English?

A: She’s been educated in Britain and she’s not Russian like she is in the book. I had a very good dialogue coach.

Q: So there you are suddenly in The Bahamas making a Bond movie. How does that feel?

A: I was just afraid of not measuring up because the story is so complex and there are so many layers – you never know who is who, who is the bad guy, it’s not black and white. It was quite difficult to understand everybody in relation to my character because there is so much sub text.

(contd). So I was quite stressed out in the beginning. It’s a big Bond machine and there is a lot of publicity around it but on set it could be any other movie, it’s like family and it’s nice and it’s intimate. But we all know there is all that publicity to come..

Q: Have you watched the Bond films over the years?

A: Oh yes, I grew up with Bond but I haven’t seen all of them. It’s entertainment and it’s so enjoyable to watch.

Q: What will Casino Royale be like?

A: Well, with this one I think it will be more realistic, darker, grittier. And what makes it different is the love story. This is almost the story of how Bond became Bond, if you see what I mean. Because it’s a tragic love story and after this he will become a womaniser because his heart is broken and his trust in women is completely lost.

Q: So this is a key relationship which forms the man we get to know later?

A: Yes.

Q: So your character isn’t quite like the Bond girls we have known from other films because he actually falls in love with her rather than taking her to bed..
A: There was On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with Diana Rigg where he is going to get married, I think. I’ve never seen that one.

Q: You mentioned that you were a little wary of the publicity that surrounds a huge film like this. Did that make you think twice before taking the role?
A: No. I thought twice when they told me they were interested in me and being a Bond girl. But then I read the script and I really liked it and I really wanted to audition for it.

Q: What is Vesper like?
A: Vesper is an accountant and she works for the treasury and she goes on this mission with Bond to make sure the money she is in charge of is not going to be squandered.

Q: This is when he is going to play in the high stakes poker game with Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen)?
A: Yes exactly. And then she becomes very much involved in the mission beyond that and she starts to fall in love with him. It’s quite funny because they are really alike, they have the same way of thinking, they are very competitive and she has a very quick wit. She is always like ‘I’ve got to have the last word!’ it’s very funny because they play all the time. I mean, they could be twins almost.

Q: But they have that chemistry?
A: Oh yes, very much,

Q: What was it like being part of this huge film?
A: She is not really an action lady, she is more cerebral. But I had to do some physical stuff, like running up the stairs with high heels and dodging knives! And I’m not very physical so that was very interesting (laughs). I had a lot of bruises. And I also had to learn diving which was a wonderful experience. I felt so comfortable in the water, which was quite weird.

Q: Was that in The Bahamas?
A: No, actually that was in Pinewood in a big tank. There’s some action under water and she ends up being trapped in an elevator under water, which is very Bond.

Q: Sounds scary. What was that like?
A: We did it last week. It was fun actually. You are safe because there are so many people around to look after you. It was scary when we did the scene where she is stuck in the elevator and one of the baddies cuts the cable and it crashes down – that was quite scary actually. Because the whole house was sinking because this was supposed to be happening in Venice. And the water, actually I liked it. Everybody was like ‘how could you do it?’ But it was fun. Really.

Q: How long did it take to film that sequence?
A: Oh a long time, maybe two weeks. And it will be two minutes, three minutes on screen. Mad (laughs)

Q: You’ve obviously been working with Daniel Craig a lot. How is the new Bond shaping up?
A: Oh he’s wonderful. He is also very charming, dangerous and tender – which is quite attractive I’ve always liked him as an actor and I think it’s such a great choice. He’s unusual for Bond I think, but he will bring another dimension because he is so rough and not mannered. But for a man, I think. I love him as an actor.

Q: And is he a good collaborator to work with?
A: Oh yes, very much. He is very supportive and he really wants to make it work and he is so involved in it. He worked closely with Martin and they really share ideas. Daniel was really good, absolutely lovely.

Q: It must take a particular kind of director to take control of a big production like this..
A: Martin is very strong. He is like a general marshalling his troops. “Come on, let’s go!” And it’s great because he has a lot of energy and he’s like a child on set, so excited and that’s good. It’s just easy, he doesn’t put you down and he loves his work so much. He doesn’t sleep at night, I think. He is on set at 4.30am every day which is mad.

Q: Have you been on every location?
A: Oh yes and that’s been lovely. The Bahamas was nice, beautiful beaches, but I think my favourite was probably Lake Como. We stayed there three days and we shot the clinic scene and it was a house on a peninsula and I think it belonged to an explorer. It was so beautiful and so dream like and unreal and magical. I think they shot some of the Star Wars movie there. And I love Prague also, that was beautiful.

Q: How long has the entire shoot been for you?
A: Almost six months. It’s my last day today. It’s been amazing.

Q: Do you get homesick when you are away from Paris for that long?
A: I have a flat here in London so that helps. And I had my mother around in Prague which was really nice. And I made friends with some people here – the make up artist, some of the assistants – and you need to create some friendships and things like that otherwise you would go mad. But it was fine and people were really lovely, so I was lucky.

Q: Have you thought about what a film like Casino Royale will do for your career and your profile?
A: Well, I hope that it means that people will get interested in me and give me some parts. But I’m a bit paranoid and quite shy so I don’t think I would enjoy being recognised too much. People don’t recognise me now and I can always make myself look different when I’m on the street. I can look about 12! (laughs)

Q: You must be pleased with the way that your career has gone so far?
A: Yes, I am. I’m very lucky. But I’m always afraid it is going to stop, you know. It’s a difficult job, quite stressful at times. But I love acting. I love creating a character and really thinking about it and working on the voice, the physicality. Because I’m quite reserved so it helps me to exteriorise all of that.

Q: I believe your mother was an actress, did she influence you?
A: No, she had stopped when I was born. And she was not the one who pushed me, on the contrary she was like ‘you have to be careful of this job..’ But I always liked it in school, taking part of the little shows, so I guess that’s where it started.

Q: Did you have much to do with Dame Judi Dench?
A: No, which was a real shame. I love her so much. She is so charismatic.

Q: Do you get to wear some beautiful outfits in the film?
A: Yes, and my favourite ones are the clothes that are quite reminiscent of the forties and quite cinematic in a way, like a black Gucci Mac and a hat. And a lot of suits because she’s an accountant and she’s quite uptight at the beginning. And of course she wears dresses when she is with Bond – she has some Bond moments! I don’t wear any bikinis – you don’t see me at all and that’s good, I think! (laughs)

Q: Do you have very intimate love scenes with Daniel?
A: Well, it’s a very well written script and it’s very, very clever. I mean, they are quite aggressive with each other at the beginning, in a playful way. And then they start falling in love and it’s quite intimate, tender, gentle and I think people have never seen Bond like that before, he’s so raw and fragile. I’m sure girls will like it.

Q: Do you like living in London?
A: It’s a new life here and I love it, I love living in London. I have some friends here and I love all the green areas. I live in Primrose Hill and it’s like a village. Paris, I mean I was born there and it’s beautiful but you don’t really enjoy it, you take it for granted a bit.