Daniel Craig - Photo : Kevin Winter/AFP

LONDON, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - James Bond actor Daniel Craig has had cosmetic surgery after being injured on the set of the latest Bond movie, he revealed in a new magazine interview.

The 40-year-old actor, who was recently spotted wearing an arm sling, revealed that he had to have eight stitches in his face after being accidentially kicked by an unnamed co-star on the "Solace" set.

"It's a stupid inconvenience because we had to stop filming. But they gave me an excellent plastic surgeon," he said.

The British superstar also praised "gorgeous" Judi Dench, who again plays "M" in the "Quantum of Solace," the latest installment of the spy thriller franchise due out later this month.

"All men have thought about her at least once in their lives. The great thing about Judi Dench is that she's the matriarch of British film," he told Elle magazine.

"She has an innate power about her ... Bond needs a woman like M to contain his nonsense and say, 'Look, 007, you've been an idiot!'

"But they won't sleep together. Not unless the cupboard gets very bare in terms of storylines."

Craig, who is on his second Bond film after succeeding Pierce Brosnan to make "Casino Royale" in 2006, said he hoped he had brought something new to 007's character.

"I wanted some fallibility. It's no good if Bond is a cocktail-swigging sexist pig with no interior struggle. Bond is often pissed off or upset, and I wanted to bring that out."

And he added: "I won't play Bond forever. But I'd like to think I've added something to the lineage of how the man has changed."