Harrison Ford, left, and Daniel Craig in a scene from Cowboys & Aliens.
Daniel Craig's no-nonsense approach to stardom has made him one of Hollywood's most in-demand - and secretive - actors, as LISA MARKS discovers
WESTERNS may be an endangered movie genre but at the 15,000 hectare Paws-Up ranch in Montana, cowhands in Stetsons still tend to their cattle, while horses graze in the fields and trucks piled high with straw rumble rhythmically along dusty roads.
It's there, against a backdrop of breath-taking beauty and endless skies, that Daniel Craig, the star of Cowboys & Aliens - a movie mash-up like no other - strides across the lawn of one of the estate's colonial-style cottages.
Looking taut and purposeful in jeans, aviator shades and a white V-neck T-shirt that neatly frames his muscular torso, his face appears as rugged as the landscape around him, punctured only by his piercing blue eyes and boyish blond hair.
Although his smile is charming, there's an underlying sense of danger.
His Cowboys & Aliens director, Jon Favreau, has called him the "Steve McQueen of his generation". And for good reason.
He's a unique presence who takes no prisoners - on and off the screen.Notoriously private, Craig displays quirks above and beyond the usual level of A-list paranoia.
Congratulated on his recent hush-hush wedding to actress Rachel Weisz, he smiles but remains tight-lipped.
He positions a camera away from him because "he doesn't want to end up on the internet" and refuses a request for a photograph.
Later, when asked about the tattoo on his right arm, which reads, "A time for timelessness", he clamps his arms to his sides and says curtly. "That's just for me".
He offers a simple explanation for his wariness.
"Talking to the press is part of the process," he says. "And as much as I don't look forward to this part of the process, I'm making movies that have to make money to be deemed successful, so I have to sell them.
"I don't mind talking about Cowboys & Aliens and I had immense fun making it, but selling it is what it's about."
His honesty feels like a punch in the face but, at the same time, it's refreshing.
"My private life is my private life and as I go on, I become more and more private."
That's not to say that Craig is completely humourless.
When asked about his free time he smiles and deadpans, "I never have any free time and if I do, I spend it with friends and family.
"I just do the normal stuff. I don't have any hobbies I can tell you about.
"I don't go fishing or sew.
"OK, I admit, there's some needlepoint at the weekend."
Joking aside, his role as Jake Lonergan, the mysterious gunslinger, alongside Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde and a fistful of CGI aliens, is a risky move.
"This isn't a movie for the critics," he says.
BUT he loved the project from the start and at the same time fulfilled a lifetime ambition.
"The script really turned me on to this and it looked fun," he admits. "Plus, I always wanted to play a cowboy."
Unlike Ford and Wilde, he was a relative newcomer to horse riding and had to work hard to keep up with his experienced co-stars.
"I just tried to cling on for grim death," he says, laughing. "I learned that the most important rules for a cowboy are don't fall off the horse and whatever you do, don't lose the hat."
If Cowboys & Aliens is a success at the box office, it'll be his third franchise; he starts shooting a new Bond movie with director Sam Mendes in November, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - the first in a series based on the popular Stieg Larsson novels - is set for an end-of-year release.
Even Craig himself admits that his rise to fame has been phenomenal.
"I don't really think about carrying three franchises because it's kind of crazy," says the 43-year-old Brit.
"Yes, it's incredible but I also lived it. Day to day, my career has happened how it's happened. It is extraordinary, but I try not to think about it too much."
It seems that keeping his head down and moving constantly forward has enabled Craig to navigate the choppy waters of show business.
"I don't know what being a movie star means," he says. "I go back to when I left drama school and all I wanted to do was a make a living out of acting and I've managed to do that. I never considered another job.
"In fact, I promised myself that if I had to do something else, like take a waiting job, I'd give up. Fortunately for me that never happened."
So does he ever feel the pressure of being a star in demand?
"I've stopped being worried about being desired a long time ago." he says. "I've been up for so many parts that have come down to two people and then they go for the guy with brown eyes. I don't take it personally.
"You learn to deal with it very early on, or you don't and you become bitter.
"I don't care who else my agent represents, or what money they get.
"If you start worrying or get jealous of other people, you're screwed.
"The grass is always greener, and there's always a nicer trailer, or a nicer perk."
That's not to say he doesn't enjoy the opportunities he's given now.
"Even as Bond you can still work with Harrison Ford and get star struck," he admits.
Because of his packed schedule, Craig has barely had time to enjoy his newly married status and admits that he thought long and hard about taking on more projects.
"Committing to Tattoo was a question of logistics and timing and even though the second and third films are not guaranteed, I had to map out the next two or three years, which is weird for an actor," he says.
"I've never had to do that before but in a way it's nice. Now I know where my free time is.
"And that means I can do simple things like plan when and where I go on holiday."
Just don't, whatever you do, ask him where he's going or who with.
Cowboys & Aliens opens on August 18.
