It's official: Daniel Craig is the next James Bond.

"It's something else, I'm a bit speechless," Craig, looking suave in a charcoal gray Brioni suit, said at a London press conference Friday after he arrived by a Royal Marine commando on the Thames. News of his casting was hardly a secret. He'd long been the rumored top choice for the role, and on Thursday night, the actor's own mother let the cat out of the bag before the producers could make the announcement official.

"Obviously we are thrilled to bits," Craig's mother, Carol Olivia, told the family's hometown paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, about her son's new role. "It has come at a very good time in his career," she added. "He has worked extremely hard all his life and this would be his biggest populist role." She also conceded, "It will be life-changing." "She's a proud mom," explained Bond producer Barbara Broccoli at Friday's news gathering.

As for the new star, the divorced dad of a daughter refused to say who he would prefer as his leading lady in the upcoming $100-million-plus caper, Casino Royale. There have been rumors that it could be Sienna Miller, with whom Craig has been linked personally, or even troubled model Kate Moss, with whom he reportedly had a fling last year.

"I'm not getting into that," he stated. But of his new job, he did say: "I knew positively on Monday when I was in Baltimore. I needed a drink. ... a couple of martinis."

Said Craig: "I don't have many qualifications. but hopefully I can bring something to the role. I've got a big pair of shoes to step into after Pierce."

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