Daniel Craig hopes Bond fans will give him chance

British actor Daniel Craig, set to star in the next James Bond installment "Casino Royale," discusses his feelings on the negative reaction he has received in Friday's issue of Entertainment Weekly.

"If I went onto the Internet and started looking at what some people were saying about me - which, sadly, I have done - it would drive me insane," Craig says. "They hate me. They don't think I'm right for the role. It's as simple as that. They're passionate about it, which I understand, but I do wish they'd reserve judgment."

The "Munich" actor faces opposition from several Bond fans who launched www.craignotbond.com, pledging to boycott "Casino Royale" and protesting the casting of Craig in the lead role.

Regardless, Craig says he is prepared to take the Bond character in a slightly different direction.

"I watched every single Bond movie three or four times, taking in everything I could about how the character had been portrayed in the past, then threw all that away once I started doing the role," he says. "There's no point in making this movie unless it's different. It'd be a waste of time unless we took Bond to a place he'd never been before."

"Casino Royale" opens in theaters Nov. 17.