When you read the books....

walther p99

...Do you picture one of the Bond actors in your head? i just noticed recently while reading OHMSS that i tend to picture Bond as i see him as opposed to just imagining one of the actors.

Loeffelholz

Back in the old days, when first reading the books as a teenager, I pretty much always pictured Connery. Since then, he's become a more generalised amalgam of the literary description---and the various actors who've played him. During my most recent rereading of Fleming's original fourteen, though, I deliberately put Craig's face on Bond in my mind's eye...worked for me.

walther p99

Loeffelholz wrote:

Back in the old days, when first reading the books as a teenager, I pretty much always pictured Connery. Since then, he's become a more generalised amalgam of the literary description---and the various actors who've played him. During my most recent rereading of Fleming's original fourteen, though, I deliberately put Craig's face on Bond in my mind's eye...worked for me.

Even though i picture my own Bond when i read, i often do imagine Craigs Bond out of all of the actors as well.

Mister White

For me, it depends on the book.

When I'm reading LALD for instance, I always picture Dalton in my head. But for FRWL it's always Connery.

Thunderpussy

When I used to read the books I never pictured any of the actors,I went with Flemings description.But now I tend to imagine T Dalton.

Sweepy the Cat

I always imagine TD as Bond whilst reading the books.

zig zag

I always picture the litery bond in my head,it's the locations that I see from the films

Osato

It's odd, but I always picture Nathaniel Parker (TV's Inspector Lyndley) when reading the books. There's just something about the slightly old-fashioned, oh-so-English dialogue and Fleming's description of Bond that rings true when I think of Nat P.

thenoisydrum

Interesting topic. I think for me it has always been my own made up image of Bond. Not something that I have done consciously though. It's all in the sub-conscious.
I think the image that I have may look a little like Leiter from Dr No.

superdaddy

i always seem to picture basil rathbone as bond when reading the books,don't no why.

Gothic ZM

I just started reading the books very recently. I had no interest in them back in the 90s, when I started watching Bond films, but after "Casino Royale," I felt that if that was the type of Bond, and the type of idea that the books were like, then I had better get reading them. The only one I've read all the way through so far is 'Casino Royale.' I am currently finishing up 'Live and Let Die.'

When I read 'Casino Royale,' I mostly imagined Craig's Bond. However, there were a lot of moments where I thought Dalton's Bond seemed more like the character. What I know for sure is that, I could not picture Moore, Brosnan, Lazenby and even Connery (whom I love as Bond) in the books....

Barry Nelson

I never imagine any of the actors who have played Bond. For one thing, I originally read the books before seeing many of the films. And secondly, Fleming's description of Bond does not match any of the actors. I have always been able to separate the books from the films. The books are better.

Alex

This was one of the first questions I posed after joining AJB. Nice!

I tended to imagine either Dalton or Lazenby. I believe the reading was LALD and CR. Nowadays it's pretty much my personal imagination or an amalgamation of actors and celebritys. For some reason Ian Ogilvy enters my head during the MR scenes with Gala Brand. I have no rational explanation for this. Other then his lean frame.

Barbel

Since I first read the books in the sixties, I obviously pictured Sean Connery as Bond and found it quite satisfactory (shatishfactory?). Once Dalton got the part- by then I was reading Gardner, of course- his voice became the one I heard, and it's pretty much stayed that way for me ever since, although I naturally picture Connery whilst re-reading the classic scenes in FRWL, GF, etc. I've NEVER pictured Moore, Brosnan, or Lazenby when reading Fleming, and certainly not Craig (Bond is tall, dark and handsome, you see).