Daniel Craig in Skyfall
Based on Ian Fleming’s now-iconic secret agent, James Bond has been one of the most coveted and sought-after roles in Hollywood ever since the character’s debut in Dr. No over 60 years ago. Famously, Oscar-winning Scottish actor Sean Connery was the first to play the part on the big screen, setting the benchmark of what the character ought to be with his suave style and slick demeanor, his unflappable sense of sophisticated cool, regardless of what foe he faced, or which woman he was romancing.
At the closing of his era, Englishman Roger Moore re-worked 007 into a more comedic screen presence, one who, despite the varying quality of his Bond movies, was pivotal in establishing the franchise's future and longevity after Connery vacated the role. Come the 1990s, Irishman Pierce Brosnan laced 007 with sex, sophistication, and wit; Englishman Daniel Craig completely re-invented him as a gritty combatant; while Australia's George Lazenby and Britain's Timothy Dalton both enjoyed brief tenures in the part that have retrospectively earned the much-deserved praise that eluded them upon release. One thing that cannot be disputed – though it sadly often is – is that each of the six actors who have portrayed James Bond have ventured to distinctly new areas to make their iteration of the character uniquely their own. They have even done so with such impact that debate still rages as to who was truly the best Bond, with each actor being well represented in those discussions. Still, it is also undeniable that some actors fit the role of 007 better than others, and a lucky few have been able to enjoy occupying the iconic role in consistently engrossing movies, while others have had to trudge through anachronistic and uninspired missteps to establish their own unique version of 007. The best James Bond actors find the perfect mix of allure, sophistication, and grit, embodying everything the spy with a license to kill on Her Majesty's Secret Service ought to be. 6 George Lazenby Bond Tenure: 1969 By virtue of the fact that he only ever appeared in one James Bond movie, and that it has had to endure as a cult classic of the franchise rather than being celebrated as an outright success like it ought to have been, George Lazenby often places last in people's rankings of all the Bond actors. However, die-hard fans of the sixth entry in the franchise, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, know that he truly stands as the sixth-best Bond rather than the worst. Despite appearing in just the one movie, the Australian actor has garnered something of a firm supporter base for his portrayal of James Bond, which does remain as criminally underrated as the film he appeared in. To contextualize why his status in the franchise is so easy to overlook, it is important to remember that Lazenby was the first successor to Sean Connery for the role, and that Connery had made the role so iconic that contemporary audiences seeing anyone replace him would be a bit like the MCU announcing Robert Downey Jr. would be replaced as Iron Man. Even within such tight and thankless confines, Lazenby finds plenty of room to flesh Bond out, making his version of the debonair spy one underscored by a soft, romantic touch and a reserved dramatic weight. On Her Majesty's Secret Service — otherwise known as the film where Bond gets married — is often touted as the most somber in the franchise, thanks to the heavily emotional story and the late Dame Diana Rigg's memorable performance as Bond Girl Teresa di Vincenzo. On Her Majesty's Secret Service has found higher praise retrospectively, and Lazenby’s performance has aged like a fine wine as the most poignant and tragic Bond to have graced the screen. 5 Roger Moore Bond Tenure: 1973–1985 When it comes to Eon-produced Bond movies, no actor has been as prolific in the James Bond role as Roger Moore. Quite appropriately, he portrayed 007 in seven different films across his 12-year tenure in the role. It all began with the energetic and vivacious Live and Let Die, which reinvigorated the Bond franchise with a refreshing levity and a new style — courtesy of its American setting and its incorporation of voodoo magic — to be one of the most important films in the whole saga. While the quality of his Bond movies did span quite dramatically, Moore himself remained consistently sturdy in the role, to the point that few would dispute his standing as an immortal screen icon because of his achievements in the franchise. While Lazenby was the first actor to play Bond after Connery made the part famous, it was Moore who proved that the franchise had a definite future beyond the Scotsman's celebrated portrayal. A distinct shift from Connery’s suave, smooth-talker, Moore’s Bond still boasted a sense of style but was also infused with a sarcastic wit, perfectly embodied by his tendency to raise a doubtful eyebrow upon villains and lovers alike. Granted, many would argue that Moore overstayed his welcome in the franchise, with his latter outings in Octopussy and A View to a Kill veering dangerously close to parody as Moore drew ever nearer to his 60th birthday. Still, no one can dispute Moore's ability to bring fun and energy to the role of 007, even if some of the films he appeared in seemed to actively strive to rob him of that defining hallmark of his performances. 4 Timothy Dalton Bond Tenure: 1987–1989 Not at all dissimilar to George Lazenby's tenure in the role, Timothy Dalton's stint as 007 has come to be viewed in a far more favorable light in hindsight after being somewhat dismissed by contemporary viewers. While the actor was eager to continue returning to the role, he starred in just the two James Bond movies, those being 1987's The Living Daylights and 1989's Licence to Kill. A measured response to the wave of excessive 80s blockbusters that began to dominate the industry in the latter part of the decade, both films excelled at meshing the tropes and the formula of Bond with the era's distinct taste for bombastic action and grit. Timothy Dalton embodied this seismic shift for the franchise astonishingly well, leaning into the coarse and snarling style of heroism that had risen to popularity, while still ensuring the defining hallmarks of Bond — his style, his wit, and his suave demeanor — remained firmly intact. This change was obviously a significant step in the evolution of the character, one that many long-serving fans of the franchise felt was too great a removal from the rigid and unflappable composure of Dalton's predecessors, a notion only bolstered by the actor's endeavor to make Bond a more emotional and erratic figure. As is frequently opined, Dalton presented a modernized idea of Bond long before audiences were ready to see it. The actor also excelled at hearkening back to the early eras of 007 when the opportunity arose. A daring Bond and a deftly balanced one as well, Dalton may not be the greatest 007 of all time, but he is by far the most underrated. Moreover, in many regards, Dalton's take on the spy is the most influential concerning how modern audiences perceive the character, laying the groundwork for the approach Craig and company would adopt in the new millennium. 3 Pierce Brosnan Bond Tenure: 1995–2002 Bond has always been slick, but Pierce Brosnan made 007 as cool as could be throughout his critically acclaimed, four-movie tenure as James Bond. Brosnan absolutely nailed the character’s balance of sophisticated charm, cheeky fun, and underlying danger to routinely appeal to franchise fans who love to see Bond being as dashing and daring as can be. The brilliant approach excelled as both a call back to the old-fashioned suaveness of the franchise as well as an embracing of a new age, a gripping modernization to ensure 007 had an appeal for viewers in the post-Cold War era. This was exceptionally realized in his debut outing as the character, with 1995's GoldenEye marking one of the all-time great Bond movies as it thrives as both an intense and enjoyable espionage thriller and a large-scale action phenomenon. Sadly, his ensuing films in the franchise wouldn't be quite so brilliant, with 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies a bit of an underrated though flawed diamond in the rough, released before two of the weakest Bond movies that have ever been made. Despite the spiraling quality of the films, though, Brosnan remained nothing short of sublime. In many ways, his Bond is the closest anyone has gotten to beating — or, at the very least, matching — Sean Connery's performance in terms of style and smoothness. Far from a cheap copy of what had come before him, though, Brosnan still presents a refreshing and unique version of 007 even when his films are revisited today. When he was at his best, and when the films were able to support him, Brosnan occupied the role of Bond with an effortless and graceful swagger like no other, and, had he been blessed with a better collection of movies, he may well have emerged from his tenure as the single greatest 007 of all time, such was his excellence, and such was his potential. 2 Daniel Craig Bond Tenure: 2006–2021 Daniel Craig's importance to the James Bond franchise's continued success, both throughout his tenure and beyond it, is not only undeniable but also impossible to adequately put into words. A contentious casting decision initially, Craig embraced the role at a time when spy sagas like The Bourne Identity and its sequels and the Mission: Impossible films were in the process of surpassing Bond and leaving the pioneering spy series behind as a relic of the past. Disparagingly dubbed the"blond Bond" by some, and with doubts being vocalized by many about whether he could do the role justice, Craig could hardly have had a more scrutinized induction to the character. However, he proved his detractors wrong from his first seconds on the screen, and 15 years later, with 2021's No Time to Die, he exited the franchise as the longest-serving and, in the eyes of many, the most compelling Bond to have ever graced the screen. Subscribe for deeper takes on James Bond actors Delve further into the world of 007—subscribe to our newsletter for in-depth profiles, side-by-side comparisons, and contextual analysis of every James Bond actor's style and legacy, helping you see whose 007 truly reshaped the franchise. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Defined by his coarse edges, his callous coldness, and his combative nature, Craig's Bond serves as a radical modernization of the character and franchise. He represents an inspired pivot to power the character into the 21st century with renewed vigor and an appetite for the best and most engrossing action the franchise has seen, an appetite that put Bond back on the cutting edge of blockbuster cinema. Audiences immediately embraced this new and momentous shift, and while Craig's era did have some misfires, it is defined in earnest by its soaring highlights, with Casino Royale and Skyfall two of the greatest films the franchise has produced. Craig's take on James Bond effectively elevated the franchise to new heights, ensuring it not only survived but thrived in an era when new, extended cinematic sagas were becoming prolific. As a bonus, Craig's tenure became the first to have received recognition at the Academy Awards. 1 Sean Connery Bond Tenure: 1962–1967, 1971 Sometimes, the original really is the best. Sean Connery was the inaugural James Bond way back in 1962, with his debut outing, Dr. No, becoming an instant and enduring sensation while setting the gold standard of what 007 ought to be. This magnificence only grew greater with sequels, From Russia with Love and the quintessential Bond masterpiece, Goldfinger. A true icon of cinema, Connery made Bond famous with his effortlessly suave demeanor, slick composure under any set of circumstances, and more than a hint of his incomparable Scottish accent, helping create more than one famous line within the franchise; whenever someone thinks of the line,"Bond, James Bond," it's Connery's voice they hear. Above all else, he ensured that Bond was always great fun. Even many of the elements of the early Bond films, which haven’t aged quite so gracefully — from the unfiltered chauvinism to the stilted fight sequences — are imbued with a distinct-of-the-time charm, thanks to Connery’s overwhelming charisma. James Connery is the best James Bond; his 007 helped pioneer the action spy-thriller, setting the foundation for what the enthralling blockbuster subgenre stands as today. He is not only the greatest Bond to have ever graced the screen, but his specific portrayal of 007 goes down as one of the most iconic and phenomenal casting decisions and performances in the history of cinema. Like Follow Followed Dr. No PG Adventure Action Thriller Release Date October 7, 1962 Runtime 110 minutes Director Terence Young Writers Ian Fleming, Berkely Mather, Johanna Harwood, Richard Maibaum Cast See All
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