Happy as the heavy

Possessing piercing blue eyes and an intense demeanor, British actor Daniel Craig, 35, has rarely cracked a smile on screen. And no wonder, with the roles he’s chosen to play: Paul Newman’s jealous, soulless son in “The Road to Perdition,” a Nazi scientist in “Copenhagen” and Sylvia Plath’s domineering husband, poet Ted Hughes, in “Sylvia.” And the trend continues with his latest film, “Enduring Love,” which opens Friday. Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, “Enduring Love” casts Craig as Joe, a successful science professor whose ordered life turns into chaos after he and an eccentric stranger named Jed (Rhys Ifans) save a young boy from a deadly accident.

Sitting at a corner table at the Four Seasons bar, Craig is far more personable than his on-screen characters -- managing somehow to be laid-back and hyper simultaneously.

Have you ever done a comedy?

The film I did, “The Mother,” I always think is a very funny movie.

That’s the one where you seduce your girlfriend’s mother?

Yeah. I mean it isn’t funny ha-ha. I think funny ha-ha is great, but I just don’t think I could do it. It’s really hard.

You certainly had no problems making your murderous character believable in “The Road to Perdition.” He was despicable.

I only killed one kid [in the movie]. Tom Hanks’ body count must have been in the 40s.

He even killed Paul Newman.

I know, and I’m the bad guy? I don’t get it. Everybody says, “You were such a bad guy,” and I say, “I was bad?”

How were you cast in “Road to Perdition”? Had you worked with director Sam Mendes on the stage in London?

He was in London picking up some cold-weather gear for Chicago, and he hadn’t cast the part. He was sitting with friend Patrick Marber, who is a writer. They were watching me on television in something, and Patrick said, “There’s your Connor.”

Save for “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” most of your films before “Road” were small, independent productions. So didn’t it make you nervous to be playing opposite Hanks and Newman?

I tried to put it out of my mind. I tried not to think about it too much. La-la-la-la-la!

You seem often to be cast as very cerebral types -- writers or scientists. Are you anything like those characters in real life?

That is really not me! [Craig’s eyes dart.] Oh, my God, it’s Larry Flynt! That is quite cool!

I just missed him being wheeled through the bar. I wonder what he’s doing here?

I don’t know. I’d like to go find out and ask, “What are you doing?”

“Enduring Love” reunites you with “The Mother’s” Roger Michell. What makes him such an interesting director for actors?

He is just massively intelligent. If you are going to be somewhere with people making movies, I want to be among people who know what they are doing. He just empowers people to do their best. He gets the best out of people. You are eager to do the job. That’s the sign of a good director.

Your character in “Enduring Love” totally unravels after he meets Jed. But he still tries to cling to his scientific theories about life. Why?

I think he believes in science because it is an excuse. He’s using it as an emotional barrier. He doesn’t want to get involved with his girlfriend. He is denying himself because he would have to face up that he would have to marry his girlfriend and have children. It takes that incident for him to wake up and realize that love is important.

There has been some discussion that if Joe represents “science,” then Jed is actually God. Do you believe in that theory?

I will not go down that road. I am not going to discuss it. It is a huge debate but I certainly think there is a particular relevance [to that theory].

Over the summer, you were fodder for the English tabloids because of your relationship with supermodel Kate Moss. Are you two still an item?

No, not anymore. We are just friends!