“There’s been a while since there was what I would call a classic Bond villain,” muses Mendes. “ I thought Mads [Mikkelsen] was particularly good in Casino Royale. But I wanted somebody perhaps a bit more flamboyant, perhaps a bit more frightening, and so I felt like we needed a great actor to achieve that.”

Anyone who has seen Bardem’s performance in No Country For Old Men can vouch for the Spanish actor’s capacity to menace, but details concerning his character, Silva, remain frustratingly scarce.

“I don't know if he's a good villain," said Bardem, to MTV.

"At least when we were doing it, we felt that it was fun to do and also kind of intense. I think the character is really complex; he's not an easy guy. He's not only a villain; it's more than that, hopefully. I'm giving James Bond a hard time — that's my job, that's my duty”

Bardem, could hardly believe his luck at being cast. “It’s like a gift,” he said, with charming self-deprecation.

“I’m 43 years old, so I remember going to see the Bond movies with my father and mother!”