BOND MONTH: Ranking the Bond Actors

To close out Rhode Island Movie Corner’s second annual Bond Month, one week before the stateside release of ‘Spectre’ on November 6^th, I will be doing what could arguably be one of the most important lists ever when it comes to talking about the James Bond franchise; ranking the 6 actors who have played James Bond to date. For the record, that doesn’t count David Niven, who played Bond in the 1967 comedy ‘Casino Royale’. Only those who starred in an ‘official’ Bond film for Eon Productions.

006 George Lazenby

Well I guess it’s the obvious choice to start off a list ranking all 6 Bond actors with the one Bond lead who literally only starred in 1 Bond film, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, before immediately stepping down from the role, resulting in his predecessor returning for one more ‘official’ Bond film. But for the record, it’s primarily because of this fact that he’s at the low point on this list, not due to his performance as Bond as most people like to focus on. There have been a lot of people who have accused him of being wooden in his performance and while I do see where they’re coming from, I view this as a result of Lazenby apparently never really having a chance to shine in the role because he was stuck in Sean Connery’s shadow, something that would affect Roger Moore early on in his Bond career as well. In fact, every other Bond actor’s best performance usually came in one of their later films so I feel that Lazenby could’ve fared much better had he had more time as Bond. And say what you will about his performance, but his scene where he talks to the police officer after Tracy’s death was where he was at his best. But ultimately, that would be it for George Lazenby, the one Bond that most people tend to forget, even though he was the star of one of the best Bond films of all-time.

005 Timothy Dalton

Like Lazenby, Timothy Dalton’s career as Bond was very short. He did star in more Bond films than Lazenby, but only by one more. His second film, ‘Licence to Kill’, was one of the franchise’s biggest under-performers and this subsequently led to a legal dispute over the rights to the franchise. By the time the series returned with ‘GoldenEye’, Dalton had already stepped down from the role, which is a shame because, contrary to popular opinion, I think that he was actually a really solid Bond. He was the predecessor to Daniel Craig in terms of portraying a much more serious and emotionally driven Bond. Plus, he absolutely looked the part, perhaps even more so than any other Bond lead before or after him. But ultimately his biggest downfall while in the role was that he wasn’t as strong as Roger Moore when it came to spewing Bond’s trademark quips. I wouldn’t go as far to say that he was ‘absolutely terrible’ at humor, but because he played the role so seriously, there wasn’t as many opportunities for one-liners. Still, I think he did a phenomenal job as Bond and I’d argue that ‘Licence to Kill’ is not only his best Bond film, but also the series’ most underrated film to date.

004 Roger Moore

Sean Connery and Roger Moore are arguably the two most iconic Bonds of all-time. But when it came to Moore’s tenure as 007, he had a bit of a mixed run in terms of both performances and the films that he starred in. Early on in his run, the filmmakers tried to make him like Sean Connery’s Bond when really that was the wrong route to go, which was most evident in ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (e.g. the scene where he twists Andrea Anders’ arm in order to get information from her) and ‘For Your Eyes Only’, which opted to take a much more serious route compared to its far campier predecessor ‘Moonraker’. Moore wasn’t the tougher Bond like Connery was that was similar to Ian Fleming’s original interpretation. He was much more charismatic and was also a master when it came to Bond’s hilarious quips. So ultimately, his best performances as Bond came in films like ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’, ‘Moonraker’, and ‘Octopussy’, where he was simply allowed to be himself. However, he was also in the role longer than he needed to be. By the time he started filming his final Bond film, ‘A View to a Kill’, he was 57 years old and was even older than his leading lady’s mother. By that point, he was no longer convincing in the role so it’s a good thing that ‘A View to a Kill’ ended up being the last time Moore would take on the role of Bond. It’s a shame though that he had to end his career with what is, in my opinion, the worst Bond film in the series to date.

003 Sean Connery

What more can be said about Sean Connery as James Bond? He was the one who started it all and is arguably the one actor that is the most identified with the character. So why then is he only ranked at #3 on this list? Well ultimately this just comes to down to personal preference as I just like the next two actors more in the role of Bond. It may have something to do with the fact that these next two actors were the Bonds of my time but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like Connery in the role of Bond. He definitely had the right amount of swagger and charisma for the role and was also able to throw in a good quip from time to time. But at the same time, he also wasn’t afraid to take on some of the darker elements of the character. As far as his films are concerned, he started off his career as Bond with a bang with three back-to-back classics in ‘Dr. No’, ‘From Russia with Love’, and ‘Goldfinger’. However after that, his Bond films started to decline in terms of quality. Part of it can stem from the fact that it seemed like Connery was getting bored in the role which is most noticeable in ‘Thunderball’ and especially in ‘You Only Live Twice’. He retired from the role after ‘You Only Live Twice’ but returned two films later for ‘Diamonds are Forever’. But while he was definitely much more enthusiastic in the role this time around, the film ended up being the weakest of the Bond films that he did for Eon. After that film, he finally stepped away from the Eon franchise for good… and then reprised the role of Bond one more time in the unofficial Bond film/remake of ‘Thunderball’, ‘Never Say Never Again’, released in 1983, the same year as ‘Octopussy’.

002 Daniel Craig

As we all know, when Daniel Craig was first cast as 007, a lot of fans weren’t too pleased with this decision. Feeling that Craig simply wasn’t fit for the role of Bond, they responded with the kind of vitriol that you tend to see from comic book fans whenever someone is cast in the lead role of a superhero film. But Craig thankfully managed to prove most of his critics wrong with ‘Casino Royale’, in which he proved to be one of the finest to have ever taken on the role of Bond. The film marked a new era for the Bond franchise as it moved away from the over-the-top plots and gadgets in favor of a stripped down, grittier interpretation of the character and Craig more than fit the part. He carries a cold and edgy demeanor but also has an emotional vulnerability to him as well. ‘Quantum of Solace’ may have been a rather disappointing follow-up to ‘Casino Royale’, but Craig still shined as Bond. And then came ‘Skyfall’, which once again redefined the character of Bond. Now Bond had to deal with the possibility of being ‘past his prime’ in an age where people like Q are much more effective behind a computer than he is out in the field. As I stated earlier, usually a Bond lead actor’s best performance comes in one of their later films and that is definitely the case for Daniel Craig with his performance in ‘Skyfall’, steely and physical while also suave and poised like the Bonds before him.

001 Pierce Brosnan

This may be a bit of a controversial choice but yes, Pierce Brosnan is my personal favorite James Bond. While he had already stepped down from the role by the time I started watching the Bond films, he was the first major actor in the role since I was born and as a result, he’s the one I most identify with the role… yes, even more so than Connery. As Bond, Brosnan found the perfect mix of Roger Moore’s charm and wit and Timothy Dalton’s emotional drive. In other words, he was a very well-rounded Bond. As far as his films went, admittedly they went down in quality with each subsequent installment after the brilliance that what his debut film, ‘GoldenEye’. But as far as his performances in the role were concerned, I’d argue that he was one of the most consistent of the 6 Bond leads and never really gave a ‘bad’ performance as Bond. It’s just a shame that some of his films didn’t live up to the quality of his performances. It may just be a case of personal preference, but at the end of the day, Pierce Brosnan is still my favorite James Bond.