Bond Star Gives Take On 'Dragon Tattoo' Film

The phenomenon of Nordic Noir shows no sign of waning as Hollywood's version of the blockbuster novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is set to hit the big screen.

Starring 007 actor Daniel Craig, the movie is based on the first of Swedish crime-writer Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, which has sold 60 million copies worldwide.

Darkly violent, the film tracks Craig's character - investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist - as he tries to find a girl who has been missing for 40 years and is believed to have been murdered by a serial killer.

Shot in Stockholm and Zurich, the 18+ certificate movie deals with decidedly adult themes including rape, torture and bigotry.

Speaking ahead of the film's London premiere tonight, Craig told Sky News how important it was to stay true to Larsson's book.

"I don't think we could have done the film unless it had been as violent as it is and what David's done is tricky, to imply as opposed to showing everything, and I think the mind fills in the gaps," he said.

"The books were about sexual politics and violence towards women and without showing that the movie doesn't stand up and if it had been sanitised and made certificate 13 for a mass audience, it wouldn't have worked, it's an adult movie."

He denied that he felt the pressure in taking on an already popular story: "I just wanted to do the best job I could. The book sold so many copies and the film was critically acclaimed so this is a chance to push it further."

Through the story Blomkvist himself is investigated, and later helped, by computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, played by American actress Rooney Mara - her character's Goth fashion sense and tattoos lending the book its title.

Mara, 26, is best known for her role as Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend in the early scenes of The Social Network about the inception of Facebook.

She said she loved playing Lisbeth, adding: "She's a character that a lot of people can relate to because of that feeling of being misunderstood or outcast.

"She has two opposing sides, visibly described as anorexic and childlike, you think she can't look after herself, but she's incredibly strong, a genius hacker but quite naive."

The New York actress took up skate boarding, kick boxing and computer training for the part which will catapult her from relative anonymity into superstardom.

She teams up again with Social Network director David Fincher, who was also behind the lens on Fight Club, the Curious Case of Benjamin Button and 1995's Se7en.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will be released in cinemas on December 26.