My Favorite James Bond Actors

 

This month the latest James Bond film NO TIME TO DIE finally gets released to theaters. Because of this I will spend all month on this blog writing various best/worst lists relating to the Bond movies. It was something I had planned to do when NO TIME TO DIE was going to be originally released about...what, a year and a half ago?

One thing I have to point out is that these lists will deal with the "official" James Bond movie series as produced by EON productions. 

To start things off, I'll list my favorite 007 actors in order of preference. 

Sean Connery

The obvious choice, but he was the original, and he set the tone for every other Bond to follow. It must be said that he tired of the role very quickly (you can see it as early as THUNDERBALL). 

Pierce Brosnan

I know it will surprise people that I have him listed second, but I felt that Brosnan's Bond was a combination of Connery and Roger Moore. What hurt Brosnan is that he never got to star in a top-notch Bond film. 

Roger Moore

Yes, he's now considered the goofy Bond....but Moore had the charisma and screen presence to pull it off (I believe those attributes are more important to being a successful Bond than having great acting ability). 

George Lazenby

You basically have to give Lazenby an "incomplete" rating--he only got to star in one movie (albeit a great one). I actually think Lazenby's newness to the acting profession helped make his Bond seem more like a real person. He would have made a fine Bond if he had stuck with the series. 

Timothy Dalton

Dalton deserves to get a sort of incomplete rating as well. He only starred in two Bond films, and only one of them was tailored to his personality. Dalton really came along at the wrong time--he would have been perfect for the type of Bond movies being made recently. 

Daniel Craig

Craig is the outlier. His Bond, and the movies he stars in, are so different from the 20th Century 007 productions that they can't be properly compared with each other. Craig's Bond is a sullen, brooding, angst-ridden fellow. You might say that Craig's Bond resembles the Bond from the Ian Fleming novels--except, having read all of those books, I don't agree with that. 

The Daniel Craig Bond reminds me of Christian Bale's Batman. Both actors are fine performers....but I don't get all excited to spend two-and-a-half hours watching them play two of my favorite fictional characters.