Depends on the scene. Usually, it's a generic figure based around this illustrated Bond on one of the Fleming book covers - which I can't find on the net. But it looks a lot like Lazenby anyway. Otherwise, as I said, depending on the scene, I visualise Connery, Lazenby, Dalton and Brosnan the most. Sometimes Moore, and only once have I pictured Craig, and that is during the end of DAF on the yacht.
Film: Tomorrow Never Dies | Girl: Teresa di Vicenzo | Villain: Max Zorin | Car: Aston Martin Volante | Novel: You Only Live Twice | Bond: Sir Sean Connery
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
For me, Bond always appears as Connery. Even back in the days when I preferred the Moore films, Flemings' Bond depicts a very Conneryesque quality.
M I always see as Bernard Lee and Moneypenny as Lois Maxwell.
For some reason, Leiter appears differently in each novel for me. In Casino Royale it was Jeffrey Wright, for Live and Let Die, it was David Hedison. It's been ages since I've read Thunderball, so I can't recall who I imagined as Leiter back then and I haven't read any others he's in. It seems a strange quirk.
In most of the novels I see usually see Connery. I see Roger at times in LALD, MR, and TSWLM. I see Lazenby in OHMSS. I see Dalton in the short stories. Most notably in OP and TLD. I would've loved to have seen Dalton do the scenes from the OP story. Brosnan and Craig pop up occasionally.
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I usually picture a vague "Fleming's Bond" that exists only in my mind's eye. If I had to put a real face to him, it would be something like Jon Hamm in the first season or two of Mad Men. Of the screen Bonds, Lazenby is the only one who occasionally creeps in, probably because his Bond had more emotional depth than Connery's, and the others are just too far removed from the time period when the novels took place.
I can never place Bond as any face that exists in reality. I just get a sense of what he may look and behave like based on the spirit of the writing. My basic outline for him is someone tall and lanky like Connery with more of the rugged boy like quality of Dalton. It's probably impossible for us 70 years on to picture the kind of man Fleming had in mind at the time.
At the risk of offending everyone - but when did that ever stop me 8-) - that looks like a woman to me
Yes, I concur. It just looks, well, odd. But that's computers for you I suppose! Even the FYEO identigraph was more accurate and that was 1981! )
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
Well, then again, Fleming kind of had a bent for masculine women 8-)
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,844MI6 Agent
I suppose that of the screen Bonds, 'my' Bond most closely resembles Connery, but as someone else suggested that's likely because the books live and breathe the 1950s/60s and Connery is the only one from that era. However, I do hear Connery's voice in my head when I read certain lines that are the same or similar to those from the films. His voice leaps up from the page...but only when it is a line later used by the screenwriter. Interestingly enough however, the villains and the Bondgirls are most definitely the screen villains and Bondgirls.
That just about sums it up for me. Since I first read the Fleming books in the 60s, Sean Connery's face, image and above all voice are what I generally envisage when reading the books... except when Dalton takes over for the (then) unfilmed sequences. Never Moore, certainly not Lazenby and God forbid Craig- though Brosnan does pop up from time to time!
Yes, and he has the slight toffish element present at least in part in the literary Bond (and Moore's film interpretation). It often gets forgotten about, but it is in my view an integral part of the character separating him from more blue-collar heroes.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Reading through Live and Let Die for the first time. Sometimes if I'm lazy about imagining a scene, Bond is kind of vague, visually and the sound of his voice (I think sometimes characters will sound like my own voice, in my head; which is sometimes disconcerting). I think partly because Roger Moore is associated with the (very different!) movie adaptation, I can hear him in my head; particularly when he say's something which seems more of what I think of as old-fashioned British; so any sentence where he says "Shan't" or "Chaps" it's suddenly Moore. His intense and wild moments conjure the image of Timothy Dalton.
Mr. Big shifted back and forth in his appearance between the actor from the movie who plays Kanaga/Mr. Big, and the actor who plays John Coffee from The Green Mile (cause that guy is freakin' enormous!).
I am reading them in order for the first time and have almost finished FRWL. I am a huge fan of Craig but I think more of a Connery for the books. Old school
I'm continuing with my first ever readthroughs of the Fleming novels and i'm currently starting Moonraker.
I've always been curious about how other fans interpret the look of the character and the world given that the cinematic universe would, no doubt, be firmly printed in their minds.
For me, i've cast the Fleming novels along these lines:
Bond - Brosnan. He's my favourite Bond, but Brosnan's delivery of the dialogue in these books suits him. Admittedly, I do seem to hear Dalton's voice a fair bit too as I read through the books.
M - Ralph Fiennes. Judi is my favourite M, but I can't see anyone but Ralph (Bernard Lee was before my time) given that the books describe M as a pipe smoking male.
Moneypenny - Naomi Harris. Just today, after reading Chapter 2, I had Naomi's Moneypenny locked in my mind as I read Fleming's description of her. The dress sense (the striped blue shirt and navy blue skirt) resembled how the Craig era has dressed Naomi's character.
Drax - hmmm....not sure yet. Haven't gotten to him. But, I like the idea of Rowan Atkinson playing him in my read of the book.
Sometimes it's Craig, but quite often if it's not a sort of vague Bond-type (probably the guy from the Daily Express strips) I end up having Lazenby pop into my head. I think because he's vaguely of the right period and, because he didn't really bring much personality to the role when he played it, he works as a sort of blank slate. I can't see Connery because the dialogue of the books doesn't really suit his style of performance.
Comments
Here's a "hoax" unreleased Moonraker movie from the 1950's that supposedly starred Dirk Bogarde, which was discussed here a few years back: https://iansadler.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/moonraker-the-forgotten-1956-james-bond-film/ The creator of the website himself posted a few times about it on AJB, of course confessing to the hoax.
M I always see as Bernard Lee and Moneypenny as Lois Maxwell.
For some reason, Leiter appears differently in each novel for me. In Casino Royale it was Jeffrey Wright, for Live and Let Die, it was David Hedison. It's been ages since I've read Thunderball, so I can't recall who I imagined as Leiter back then and I haven't read any others he's in. It seems a strange quirk.
8. TMwtGG 9. AVtaK 10. TSWLM 11. SF 12. LtK 13. TND 14. YOLT
15. NTtD 16. MR 17. LaLD 18. GF 19. SP 20. DN 21. TB
22. TWiNE 23. DAD 24. QoS 25. DaF
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"Images created by Brian J Davis using a commercially available law enforcement composite sketch software and descriptions of literary characters."
Here's the context: http://thecomposites.tumblr.com/
At the risk of offending everyone - but when did that ever stop me 8-) - that looks like a woman to me
Yes, I concur. It just looks, well, odd. But that's computers for you I suppose! Even the FYEO identigraph was more accurate and that was 1981!
Yes, see Tatiana Romanova's boyish behind for an example!
Agreed, Dalton is closest to Fleming's Bond. He's my favourite of the Bond actors for that very reason. Of course I love Sir Roger Moore too. -{
As I said all those years ago...
Funny you should say that; first person I thought of when I saw that picture was Angelina Jolie.
I always imagined a Richard E Grant type as the literary 007
Didn't he do some of the Bond audiobooks? Might have been considered for the Bond role too I think.
Yes, and he has the slight toffish element present at least in part in the literary Bond (and Moore's film interpretation). It often gets forgotten about, but it is in my view an integral part of the character separating him from more blue-collar heroes.
His films are closer to that era as well, which helps.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Mr. Big shifted back and forth in his appearance between the actor from the movie who plays Kanaga/Mr. Big, and the actor who plays John Coffee from The Green Mile (cause that guy is freakin' enormous!).
Agree completely that he would have been excellent in the part.
I'm continuing with my first ever readthroughs of the Fleming novels and i'm currently starting Moonraker.
I've always been curious about how other fans interpret the look of the character and the world given that the cinematic universe would, no doubt, be firmly printed in their minds.
For me, i've cast the Fleming novels along these lines:
Bond - Brosnan. He's my favourite Bond, but Brosnan's delivery of the dialogue in these books suits him. Admittedly, I do seem to hear Dalton's voice a fair bit too as I read through the books.
M - Ralph Fiennes. Judi is my favourite M, but I can't see anyone but Ralph (Bernard Lee was before my time) given that the books describe M as a pipe smoking male.
Moneypenny - Naomi Harris. Just today, after reading Chapter 2, I had Naomi's Moneypenny locked in my mind as I read Fleming's description of her. The dress sense (the striped blue shirt and navy blue skirt) resembled how the Craig era has dressed Naomi's character.
Drax - hmmm....not sure yet. Haven't gotten to him. But, I like the idea of Rowan Atkinson playing him in my read of the book.
Sometimes it's Craig, but quite often if it's not a sort of vague Bond-type (probably the guy from the Daily Express strips) I end up having Lazenby pop into my head. I think because he's vaguely of the right period and, because he didn't really bring much personality to the role when he played it, he works as a sort of blank slate. I can't see Connery because the dialogue of the books doesn't really suit his style of performance.