Keep it under you hats but the Birmingham Post has been given an exclusive on the name of Bond 23, straight from the star himself.

“It’s called...absolutely none of your business.

“No, really, that is the title,” says Daniel Craig, breaking into a grin.

The actor who can seem unapproachably taciturn on screen is clearly in a chipper mood, in spite of the fact that London had gone up in flames only two nights before due to the riots.

“They were close by to us last night,” he reveals.

“I don’t know how to comment on it because there is a major criminality going on and there are also a lot of pissed off people.

“If it was just an isolated case you could say it’s just a gang of kids out to cause trouble but they were everywhere.

“It needs addressing. We don’t need all out war on the streets, we really don’t.”

Anarchy in the UK aside, life is sweet for the actor. Bond is back on track after suffering an unexpected hiccup when MGM ran into financial trouble. “They were broke,” says Daniel, bluntly.

With production suspended indefinitely he chose not to reflect on the fact this could be the end of the 50-year franchise and instead threw himself into other work.

“It worked out very nicely for me. I did a cowboy movie, a motion capture movie (The Adventures of Tintin), a David Fincher movie. (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).”

He has wanted to play a cowboy “since I was a kid” but surprised to find himself portraying a gunslinger pitted against aliens.

However, he was persuaded by the fact that the western aspects of the film were played so straight they could have come from the John Ford book of movie-making.

“The visual language of a western was all there

“I had someone who was a gun expert who taught me shooting and we shot every gun possible from the time.

“I took my belt and gun home every night and shot at the mirrors, the dark bits in the corner and learned to fast draw.

“I could ride a bit but in the English style, not like a cowboy. We had a bunch of guys on the movie, some of whom had worked with John Wayne, who were really old hands. They put me on a horse and shouted at me a lot, told me to keep my hat on.”

The film’s director, Jon Favreau, has likened Daniel to Steve McQueen in his cowboy heyday.

“That’s very nice,” smiles Daniel. “I’m humbled but I am very far from being Steve McQueen. I probably tried to steal things from him in this movie, not least the chaps I am wearing which I nicked from The Magnificent Seven.”

The fact Daniel’s character initially has no name (he has amnesia and can’t remember it) has also drawn comparisons with Clint Eastwood.

Not knowing who to trust, he says little and stares suspiciously.

“Apparently Eastwood had a thing about only having 11 lines per movie which I think is a really good thing. I say cut it down to nine – fewer lines to learn. I had to ride a horse, put it on its mark and shoot so I had plenty to think about.”

The 43-year-old melted a few female hearts (and probably crashed their computers) when, in Casino Royale, he was pictured emerging from the sea with buff shoulders and pumped up pecs on display.

In a conveniently shredded shirt he shows off an equally impressive set of abs in Cowboys & Aliens, though he looks considerably leaner.