Craig trains for next Bond film

He's jumping off tall buildings again, but this time it is just rehearsals ahead of the next James Bond blockbuster due in theatres in 2008.

British actor Daniel Craig, who won over the skeptics with his dark and dangerous interpretation of the world's most famous spy in his hit Bond debut "Casino Royale," is set to reprise the role in an as yet untitled sequel.

"We are rehearsing stunts and I'm throwing myself off tall buildings ... again," Craig said in a recent interview.

Asked whether "Bond 22" would be based on an Ian Fleming novel in the same way as "Casino Royale," he replied:

"It's a completely new story and it does go straight on from the end of the last one. We've picked some themes that come up in the last movie ... They are pretty fundamental ones and they're good fun to do."

The 39-year-old hesitated before accepting the role of Bond in "Casino Royale," aware that he would be expected to commit to several more films in the hugely successful franchise and run the risk of being typecast as an action hero.

But Craig said he had had few problems doing what he wanted to do since then, and the clout that Bond has given him had actually opened up new possibilities.

"I produced a movie this year which has been a new experience," he said of "Flashbacks of a Fool" due out next year. Craig also stars in the tale of a fading Hollywood star who examines his past after the death of his best friend.

"It may happen (that I am typecast)," he told Reuters. "Maybe I should just relax and let it happen. Maybe I'm just working too hard."