6. George Lazenby (Who?)
“Bond. James Bond.” With those words, one of the most iconic super-spies of the last 50 years would announce his suave, debonair, and sometimes menacing presence to foes and fetching females alike. Many an actor has donned a dashing tux while looking to fit the role of 007 to their own unique persona. Some have fared well, others have fallen short. Here’s a look at what could be considered some of the best, and most abysmal, Bonds…
The star of only one Bond flick, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), George Lazenby’s Bond didn’t make a great impression on the 007 franchise. He was handsome, yes, but also a handful when it came to behind-the-scenes theatrics. Producer Cubby Broccoli labeled Lazenby his “biggest mistake”; while co-star Diana Rigg dismissed him as “bloody impossible.”
5. Roger Moore: Many Films, Then No More
Roger Moore brought a certain lighthearted panache to seven Bond films. With his upbeat performances, Moore went light on the doom and gloom that sometimes permeates spy melodramas; instead, he opted for a glistening glamour that seemed more Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous than Bond’s badness.
4. Pierce Brosnan: More Than Piercing Good Looks
According to the late movie critic Roger Ebert, Pierce Brosnan’s portrayal of Bond in Golden Eye was “more sensitive, more vulnerable, more psychologically complete” than other 007 representations. Alas, Brosnan’s pitch-perfect Bond performance was missing from the other films in which he starred: The World is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Die Another Day.
3. Timothy Dalton: Killed It In At Least One Movie
License to Kill took Bond to a dark place with a violent, gritty interpretation of the spy, and Timothy Dalton went along for the ride. Drawing on his experience with Shakespeare, the actor brought insight into Bond’s thinking, which had been notably absent from previous films. Unfortunately, the life seemed to go out of his performance with The Living Daylights.
2. Sean Connery: The Gold Standard
With his performance in Goldfinger (1964), Sean Connery set the standard for all that Bond could and should be: suave and superior, cunning and clever, smarter than everyone else in the room, mysterious with just the slightest hint of menace.
But for some, the smarm and cockiness were a bit overdone and, ultimately, predictable. One could almost see him formulating a quick-witted and deprecating response before it was verbalized. Yes, moviegoers loved this Bond – almost as much as Connery clearly loved himself.
1. Daniel Craig: Giving Bond The Royale Treatment
Casino Royale. Quantum of Solace. Skyfall. Spectre. In all four movies, Daniel Craig brings a level of gravitas to the smarmy, playboy Bond that had started to become a “seen-its-day” cliché.
His portrayal of 007 as an emotionally traumatized orphan goes light on the swagger and glee, opting for a more nuanced performance that suggests there’s a human being with some emotional baggage behind the gun. For some, Craig’s Bond went too deep, leaving behind the pulsating pulp that helped project the Bond series into cinematic history.
No matter who your favorite Bond is, there’s little doubt that the Bond franchise on the whole has been, and will continue to be, incredibly successful, and incredibly entertaining.