Every James Bond Actor, Ranked
Few fictional characters don't require an introduction. James Bond is one of them.
Across 25 films, produced over 60-plus years, Ian Fleming's debonair, dangerous, and dashing spy has been at the center of a cinematic legacy that defies the odds. Perhaps only Sherlock Holmes offers comparison — a character so iconic, so popular, so fully-formed, but also so flexible that it's impossible to imagine the modern pop culture landscape with him. Agent 007 set the standard. And then resets it every decade or so.
Of course, a character this important (to both fans and the producers crafting his movies) needs an actor capable of filling that tux and wielding that pistol. And here's the truth: There has never been a bad Bond actor. Sure, there have been plenty of terrible James Bond movies, but no actor has actually embarrassed themselves or the franchise. They've all shown up. They all understood the assignment. They all offered their own unique take on Bond that feels just right, while feeling just different.
So when /Film's James Bond braintrust sat down to rank all six actors who have played 007 in the core franchise films (we're ignoring the parodies and early TV productions and what-not), we knew there would be some tough choices to make. We love all of these actors, and their interpretations of the character. We had to get granular. And it got very, very close at times.
6. George Lazenby
George Lazenby played Bond once and only once in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," but the man put his stamp on the role and has seemingly found increasing appreciation for his interpretation of the character as time goes on. To that end, his lone entry is often cited as one of the best Bond films to date, and Lazenby is owed a fair share of credit for that. Rather than just emulate what Sean Connery did before him in making 007 a household name, Lazendy did the unthinkable and somehow made the role his own just two years after "You Only Live Twice" hit theaters. That's no small thing.
The biggest knock against Lazenby is that he has only one film under his belt. How can one possibly compare him to someone like Roger Moore, who played Bond seven times? But as the documentary "Becoming Bond" revealed, the producers were prepared to offer Lazenby a long-term contract to be the new Bond for years to come. That's not how it played out. Instead, Lazenby gets to occupy a unique place in the canon of the franchise, leaving many of us to quietly wonder "What if?" and imagine a version of history where he made another film instead of Connery coming back for "Diamonds Are Forever." It's wildly appealing to consider, and that's a credit to what Lazenby did with his short time in the role. Dashing, sharp-witted, and dangerous, Lazenby's Bond still stands out from the pack all these many years later. (Ryan Scott)
5. Timothy Dalton
In many ways, Timothy Dalton was a James Bond actor decades ahead of his time. There's an aura of ruthlessness around his take on the character — he radiates that icy, merciless danger that would help define Daniel Craig's run with Bond. One can't help but wonder what would've happened if Dalton was given a 007 adventure that truly played to those strengths. "The Living Daylights," while undeniably one of the most fun James Bond movies, has a goofball Roger Moore quality to its script and Dalton just never seems comfortable with those quips and the light comedy (Dalton would later showcase tremendous comedy chops in films like "Hot Fuzz," though). "Licence to Kill," a far more serious-minded adventure, just isn't a strong enough film to stand out, even if Dalton's harsh performance acts as a showcase for what could've been.
In an alternate universe, Dalton would've starred in "GoldenEye," and we'd have more to examine, more to judge. But in our universe, we have two movies where Timothy Dalton plays James Bond and they're different enough to cause whiplash. One gets the impression that he was one truly great film away from locking down his take on the character, one who is as flexible as Sean Connery's but as efficient as Craig's. Even more than Lazenby, Dalton remains the series' greatest enigma. (Jacob Hall)
4. Roger Moore
Roger Moore played James Bond in seven movies, and it's difficult to imagine another actor beating that record. And you can tell why he stuck with the role for so long — unlike Sean Connery, Moore relished playing the suave super-spy and you can see it across his best (and sometimes worst) films. If Daniel Craig's Bond could barely stand being in his own skin and Connery's Bond was a predator on the prowl, Moore's Bond was the guy happy to be the center of attention at every party. His greatest superpower was a wit powerful enough to disarm ... and distract an enemy long enough to think of an escape plan.
While Moore was more than capable of portraying Bond's harsh edges (his nasty execution of a henchman in "The Spy Who Loved Me" comes to mind), he was comfortable leaning into the character's sillier side. Under Moore's watch, the Bond movies became funnier, more outrageous, and the leading man brought the perfect amount of self-awareness to the role. Moore's Bond isn't winking too hard, but he's certainly aware that he has a strange job, in a strange world, and relishes every moment.
Moore's legacy is a bit tainted by the inconsistency of his films, which range from exceptional to deplorable. By the end of his run, Moore is doing his best with the material, but he looks and sounds ... tired. Here's an actor who gave his all to a character he loved, for better and worse. (Jacob Hall)
3. Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan feels like he was born to put his stamp on the role of James Bond. We're talking about an actor who was so destined to bring Ian Fleming's creation to life that he lost the role once when he got pulled back into "Remington Steele" at the 11th hour, only to circle around to the part once again when the series needed a reinvention in the '90s. That reinvention came in the form of 1995's "GoldenEye," a movie that showcases the best of what Brosnan brought to the role: a little bit of that classic Sean Connery gruffness, a little bit of that signature Roger Moore silliness, and a look all his own that simply screams "Bond, James Bond."
Sure, Brosnan's era, which spans four films, is a mixed bag, with "Die Another Day" often ranked as one of the worst entries in the franchise. But Brosnan always showed up to do his part. When one pictures James Bond, it's hard to deny that the handsome Irishman nailed the look of a suave, cocky superspy capable of seducing gorgeous women whilst saving the world. There are things we associate with Bond in the classic sense — a sexist, misogynist dinosaur and a relic of the Cold War, as Judy Dench's M once so eloquently put it. It's hard to play that with charm. Damned if Brosnan didn't do precisely that. (Ryan Scott)
2. Sean Connery
There's a famous story about Sean Connery's audition for James Bond. He made an instant impression on producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman by making it clear he wouldn't accept a discounted rate for playing the role (despite being a fairly unknown actor at the time). After he walked out of the room, the producers looked out the window and saw Connery walking across the street, and the way he moved struck them as being similar to a panther. They knew they had their man.
Connery was the epitome of 1960s cool. He could use that panther-like physicality to his advantage, like when he wielded a couch as a weapon in "You Only Live Twice." He could deliver a one-liner with the best of them, like in "Goldfinger" when he knocked a henchman into a bathtub, electrocuted him by smacking a lamp into the water, and smirked out the word, "Shocking." While some other Bond actors played the role with deadly seriousness or seemed to react with a sense of surprise at what was happening around them, Connery's wry smile let the audience know he was just as amused with his own wit and sense of humor as we were. In many ways, he set the template for the cinematic action heroes of the modern era — a detached, tough as nails operative who also looked terrific in a tux. This is what I call a dividing line performance: There's a world before Sean Connery's James Bond, and a world after. (Ben Pearson)
1. Daniel Craig
Most James Bond actors chose to play the role with a "what you see is what you get" approach. Sean Connery opted for a swaggering take on the character, playing a guy whose confidence in his own abilities was so high, he didn't give a damn if anyone called his bluff. Roger Moore's 007 would frequently go undercover, but you rarely felt his Bond was committed to the job; the actor would quickly raise an eyebrow to let you know he was in on the joke.
Daniel Craig took a different approach.
Craig crafted a multilayered Bond, a vulnerable mess in the body of a warrior. Craig's piercing eyes were just as effective as Bond's Walther PPK. Through a micro-expression, we could see the wheels turning in Bond's head, track his roiling emotions, and understand his heartbreak. When Craig's Bond lied to himself, we knew it. He let us in through his performance style, and that accessibility recalibrated the audience's relationship to the character. We were no longer watching a debonair spy who could smooth-talk his way out of trouble. We were watching a broken man adopt an alter ego just to get through the next godforsaken day, fully dependent on his job to give him a sense of purpose. Craig made us really feel what it would be like to be Bond, and it was not nearly as cool as we wanted it to be. (Ben Pearson)