Daniel Craig says his role as James Bond has become more enjoyable over the years.

(MGM/COLUMBIA PICTURES) -  Daniel Craig returns to the big screen as James Bond in the 23rd installment of the 007 series.

"Skyfall" is Craig's third time out as the British secret agent and said it hasn't gotten easier, but it is more fun.

When Craig was selected as Bond in 2005 he received backlash from fans and critics, with some calling him James 'Bland.' While he is too humble to share some of the praise he has received, seven years later he knows how to take the good with the bad.

"They've been very nice, they've been very - on the whole, you know. There are still - some people who just hate me but that's, you know, that's the balance in life," he said.

In "Skyfall," Bond's allegiance to M, played by Dame Judi Dench, is challenged as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. Dench explained how this film is slightly different from those in the past.

"It's perhaps a more personal story, that you see more of about the backgrounds of people and what has happened. Certainly a background of mistakes made and maybe regretted and covered up. And I think that that hasn't been shown much before," she said.

However, the high-energy action packed scenes that Bond has become known for are still there. Naomie Harris, who is making her Bond debut, talked about the stress that comes along with such elaborate stunts.

"If you're firing a gun, you know, or if you're dealing with a train that's moving at 50 miles an hour. That's got to be pretty precise kind of work. It's not like acting were you can go, 'oh I messed up, can I just go again,' you've got to get it right. So there is a lot of pressure as well as a lot of fun," said London-born Harris.

Dame Judi Dench has been a part of the franchise since 1995 and said she didn't fully understand the responsibility of the role when she began.

"I didn't really know what, in a way, what a roar it would cause to make M into a woman, I didn't know really that at the time, I thought it was a wonderful part, this is a great part and a great hero of mine, Bernard Lee, played M years and years ago - and I just had him in my mind. And it wasn't really until after, until 'Golden Eye' came out that 'oh, gosh that was, you know, quite a thing,'" Dame Judi told Reuters.

After turning down a past offer to play opposite Bond, Javier Bardem appears in the film as Bond and M's nemesis, Silva.

"I guess it's about timing, you feel that now is the right time and also based on the material and based on many other things and then you go, ok, now it's time for me. And of course it's a great privilege to belong to a great James Bond movie," he said.

Newcomer Berenice Marlohe also talked about the pride that comes along with being selected to appear in a Bond film. The French actress talked about the moment she learned she had gotten the role: "I felt extremely peacefully because I was, 'awwh, that's so good.'"

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Bond series, which Dench called perfect timing: "It's wonderful that's this has come out during a Jubilee year and the year of the games and everything, because it is very essentially British, kind of flying the flag."

"Skyfall" will hit theaters on November 9.