Daniel Craig was perfect for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' because he comes from the "cold, dark" and "depressing" part of the UK.

The actor plays lead character Mikael Blomkvist in the Hollywood adaptation of the Swedish thriller novel, and was convinced he could do the tough part Justice because he's from the North of England, which he feels shares much in Common with Scandinavia.

He told The Sun newspaper: "I'm from the UK, we have a lot in common. I mean, we are all from the frozen North.

"It gets cold, it's dark for most of the year, we are depressed. We like a drink, we like singing, we like storytelling and we like scaring the s**t out of each other."

Although his American co-star Rooney Mara doesn't share the same background, Daniel was very impressed with the way she tackled her role as gothic, tattooed, computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.

In an interview in The Sun newspaper, he said: "She's fantastic in this part. I've just been incredibly impressed by her commitment.

"Her work was not about suffering - she just got on with it and did it.

"I mean it was like having a 15-year-old teenage boy walking around the set in a bad mood most of the time. For me, that's what Salander in the book was all about."

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' is in cinemas this month.