Five-star vehicles such as the Aston Martin DB5, Agent 007’s go-to car brand, high-tech gadgets and the look of a purely Brit dandy, James Bond embodied by Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Daniel Craig has won over years the whole planet, as well as an endless list of Bond girls, while rising to the rank of the most iconic spy of all time. So, who are all of the actors who have played James Bond?
Barry Nelson
Not many people would list Barry Nelson as their favorite James Bond actor if you were to ask them. Yet Nelson was the first to take on the role of Agent 007 in the first-ever TV movie adaption of Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royal, which aired as the third episode of the 1950s series Climax! on CBS in 1954. This one will give way to two other versions in 1967 and 2006, which remain at the top of platform in the collective memory.
Photo: CBS Photo Archive // Getty Images
David Niven
You may not have realized it, but Ian Fleming first imagined David Niven to play James Bond. Unfortunately, the actor was too old. In 1967, he finally did play Agent 007 in Casino Royale. In the parody film Casino Royale, the spy is the opposite of the James Bond we know. Fun fact: the author decided to pay tribute to the actor in You Only Live Twice by naming Kissy Suzuki’s cormorant “David”
Photo: Sunset Boulevard // Corbis via Getty Images
Sean Connery
Sean Connery is undoubtedly the most iconic actor to have played James Bond. With six official EON Productions films to credit, namely Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Connery even returned in the unofficial opus in 1983, Never Say Never Again. Considered an icon of British cinema, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 for services carried out to British film and thus became Sir Sean Connery.
Photo: Getty Images
Roger Moore
From 1973 to 1985, Roger Moore replaced Sean Connery and excellently portrayed James Bond over seven memorable films: Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View To Kill (1985). The British actor passed away on May 23, 2017 at the age of 89.
Photo: Milne // Express // Hulton Archive // Getty Images
George Lazenby
Prior to giving way to Roger Moore, the still unknown Australian actor George Lazenby embodies Agent 007 for the one and only time in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). To make up for his lack of fame, the producers then set their sights on an already famous James Bond girl, Diana Rigg (Emma Peel), after having approached the icon Brigitte Bardot who was not available for the role. Afraid of nothing to prove that he can play the role of 007, Lazenby takes diction lessons and watches the shutters with Sean Connery to erase his strong Australian accent.
Photo: Central Press // Hulton Archive // Getty Images
Timothy Dalton
James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) is played by Timothy Dalton, succeeding Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and George Lazenby. The producers had already approached him to play the spy in You Only Live Twice, but the actor had declined the proposal considering himself too young. He will take on this role twice, in The Living Daylights and License to Kill (1989).
Photo: AFP
Pierce Brosnan
The 2000s generation will likely argue that Pierce Brosnan is the most essential James Bond. In 1995, the actor embodied the spy for the first time in the first installment of the franchise which combined diversity and feminism. In total, he will play the Agent 007 over four films, GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).
Photo: Hamshere // Getty Images
Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig is the sixth actor to step into the shoes of James Bond, after Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. Martin Campbell’s Casino Royale has nothing to do with the 1967 one, a parody version of one of Ian Fleming’s novels. It is rumored that he will leave his place to a woman after his role in No Time to Die.
Photo: Sputnik // Sputnik via AFP
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