Hello again from Prague. We're only just back and the tans are already fading but it feels strangely like coming home.

We've gone straight into shooting the interior of Le Chiffre's yacht, the exterior parts of these scenes having just been shot in the Bahamas. It gives me a bit of time to catch up with our villain which will come as something of a relief to Lillian who sent me a question about him. Well, eventually she got to the question. First, she was refreshingly candid.

"I'm new to this whole James Bond thing. To be honest, it doesn't do anything for me. But I'm a big Mads Mikkelsen fan! Because of Mads, CASINO ROYALE will be the first Bond film I've paid to see and watched all the way through. Will you have news or stories about Mads in your blog soon?"

Lillian is not the only one interested in Mads whose reputation has already grown beyond the borders of his native Denmark. Not for his role as Tristan in KING ARTHUR, although I am sure that had its admirers, but for the series of outstanding performances he has given in a wide range of work both on stage and on screen. I was enthusing last week about Barbara Broccoli in her role as party giver. That's important but more relevant here is her interest in actors and their casting. She and the other film-makers have made some really strong choices in this film, starting of course with Daniel, and Mads is a key part of this process. (It's pronounced "Mess" incidentally. Lillian, you probably knew that).

As I think I've said before, this script takes us in new directions for Bond and one of these new directions leads us to a different kind of villain. This is a role that needs a good actor and, although we've had many of those before, Mads is enjoying the challenge.

"He's not the mad scientist who's trying to take over the world but he's trying to make as much money as possible, cheating everybody he can, which of course gives him a lot of enemies but he is a little more human than you probably normally would see in a Bond villain. He's a man who has got a lot of greed, he just wants money in an easy way and that's going to be his Achilles Heel in the end."

If you know the book, then you'll recognize this as a pretty faithful description of Le Chiffre's character. But how does he see our Bond differing from previous incarnations?

"Bond is different, he's a more whole person, he's got skeletons in the closet as well and he's got weaknesses - not only the women this time but personal weaknesses. It's a very strong thriller not only a Bond film but also a very strong story."

Again, there are interesting parallels here with Ian Fleming's creation. What do you think? Keep sending in your questions to me on the Ask Yarborough link.

Until next time.
YARBOROUGH