The English actor Daniel Craig has been confirmed as the new James Bond to end months of speculation over who would take over from Pierce Brosnan on Her Majesty's secret service.
In typically flamboyant 007 style, the 37-year-old swept up the River Thames on a power launch to a news conference, escorted by Royal Marines boats.
Daniel Craig poses for photographs after he was named as the new James Bond
The first blond Bond, wearing a blue suit and red tie, posed for photos in the shadow of Tower Bridge and told reporters: "I'm kind of speechless at the moment."
The casting of one of cinema's most iconic characters closes the successful four-film run of Irishman Brosnan, who was shaken and stirred not to be retained to make Casino Royale, the 21st Bond film, that starts shooting in January.
The 52-year-old described the decision by the Bond franchise makers to drop him as a "body blow".
"I was looking forward to making it edgier and grittier, and for all of that to go down in one phone call was highly disappointing," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Although little known in the United States, Craig will be more familiar to British audiences after appearing in the gangster caper Layer Cake.
He also played alongside Paul Newman in Road to Perditionand was poet Ted Hughes opposite Gwyneth Paltrow's Sylvia Plath in Sylvia.
Only five actors have played Bond since the first film, Dr. No, more than 40 years ago. Brosnan, Sean Connery and Roger Moore were well-loved mainstays as the secret agent, while George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton were less successful.