JAVIER BARDEM TO PLAY ‘BOND’ VILLAIN

Javier Bardem is back to doing what he does best — playing the villain.

The Spanish actor will channel his inner bad boy as the next villain in the James Bond franchise, currently headed by Daniel Craig.

“I am very excited, my parents took me to watch the movies, and I saw all of them, and to play that is going to be fun,” Javier confirms to ABC.

He adds of his antagonist role: “They chose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details.”

Sam Mendes will direct the 23rd Bond movie, rumored to be titled Skyfall.

JAVIER BARDEM CONFIRMS BABY NEWS

They were playing shy about their July wedding and have been more than quiet about her 4 1/2-months-along pregnancy — until now.

At a Rome press conference for Eat Pray Love, reporters brought up baby speculation, and Javier Bardem obliged — a little.

“It is true,” Javier said of wife Penélope Cruz‘s burgeoning bump. “I am very happy.”

There’s no name yet, he confirmed, which was about all the Italian journalists could get out of him. “Don’t make me say anything else,” the future father said.

JULIA ROBERTS AND JAVIER BARDEM EAT, PRAY AND LOVE IN NEW YORK CITY

It was a union of Oscar-winning actors as Javier Bardem and Julia Roberts hit the premiere of Eat Pray Love at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City today (August 10).

While Javier kept it classic in a tailored navy blue suit, 42-year-old Julia showed off her killer gams in a pair of short shorts and an oversized blazer.

Meanwhile, though she’s an old pro at this point, Julia still gets nervous about movie making.

“If I’m not feeling anxious and excited and nervous, then I haven’t invested much in it and I shouldn’t be there,” she says. “So, really, I just want to put myself in a position where I am really feeling like I have to ramp up and accomplish my goals.”

While filming, Julia was joined by her family — including 5-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus and 3-year-old Henry.

“Well, the funny thing is, they had just been in India because my husband (photographer Danny Moder) had just been working there in January and this was in October,” she explains. “So, we had been in Jaunpur and Agra and all these places, Goa. We were all over the entire country. They loved it. So, when I said we were going back, they were so excited. We went to all the places we hadn’t been before.”

Julia’s next big-screen project is Larry Crowne, a dramedy that’s been shooting in Southern California in recent months and is set for release next year, reunites her with Tom Hanks, whom she describes as “an amazing man and friend.”