Toby Stephens plays Bond's newest nemesis, Gustav Graves. Stephens is a relatively new face, but he has quite a pedigree: his mother is famed actress Dame Maggie Smith and his late father was celebrated stage actor Sir Robert Stephens. Stephens is also the youngest Bond villain ever.

Stephens was thrilled to get the part of Graves, but also found it stressful at first. "It's an enormous buzz, then you suddenly realize the responsibility of playing a Bond villain is quite big," he says. "The films have an enormous following and such enormous expectations, and, inevitably, the Bond villain is a catalyst and engine of the movie. If you don't have a good villain, you won't have a great film, really."

A classically trained actor, he found it easier once they were actually shooting, but the excitement of doing the role never went away. "I often found myself slightly reeling after doing a scene with Pierce," he says. "You suddenly think, 'I can't believe this. I'm doing a scene with James Bond!'

In speaking of his character, Stephens is hesitant to reveal too many details. "It would give too much away, and the mystery surrounding Graves is part of the fun," he says. "I can say that Graves is incredibly successful and wealthy. He presents a very nice, caring front, yet he has this whole other side to him. It's a very interesting character. And it's more intriguing for an audience to figure out what's going on."

In the script, Graves is a master swordsman, and Stephens rehearsed E´pée fencing for two months with swordmaster Bob Anderson, as well as a range of other weapons. He'd done a lot of stage fighting, but he found film fighting much more complicated. "For stage fighting, you make very flat, buoyant moves because people are sitting way back in the theatre," he says. "For films, you've got to make very small moves, and you're actually aiming to hit someone."

The worldwide nature of the Bond films also affected Stephens' training. "I had to learn several lines in Korean," he says. "How impressive is that?

"I have really good lines," he continues. "But I was disappointed that I never got to say, 'Goodbye, Mister Bond.' Most Bond villains get to say that. I actually said it in my screen test. I felt that even if I didn't get the part, at least I got to say that line."

Overall, Stephens found playing Graves a great challenge and unforgettable experience. "My favorite Bond film is From Russia With Love," he says. "I love Robert Shaw's performance. His scenes with Sean Connery are so gritty, and you really thought Bond had met his match. That's the trick. If you can make the audience believe, even for a second, that Bond has had it - even though you know he's going to win in the end - then you're on a winning streak."

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