1. Sean Connery
He was the best - he had the perfect mix of aggression, charm and wit, and he had the looks too. 'Sean Connery is James Bond', read the promotional poster for You Only Live Twice. I couldn't agree more. Sean Connery, under the direction of Terence Young, is the epitome of what James Bond should be. Maybe I'm biased, but three of my top five favourite films star Connery as Bond (Dr No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger)
2. Timothy Dalton
His portrayal of Bond is probably closest to Fleming's vision of Bond. What he lacked in terms of charm and charisma, he made up for in being a very believable cold, ruthless secret agent with a licence to kill. I also liked that before he played Bond, he studied the role by reading all of Fleming's Bond novels, and his mission was to bring back Fleming's Bond to the screen after too many years of Moore. I think he succeeded. The Living Daylights is the only Bond film not made in the 1960s in my top five favourites.
3. Daniel Craig
In terms of his portrayal as Bond, Craig's is almost a mirror image of Dalton. His Bond is a 'serious' Bond, and handled his role in Casino Royale extremely well. I still have reservations about the fact that he's the only Bond actor under 6ft tall, and the only Bond actor to have blond hair. But if it's his acting that counts, then he has done extremely well in that regard.
4. George Lazenby
Very underrated, I think. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is my second favourite Bond film. Maybe the fact that people don't rate him is partly because he was succeeding Sean Connery. But I thought he did a terrific job in his one and only Bond appearance. One thing I liked about Lazenby is his action scenes. I'm sure his service in the Australian Army helped
5. Pierce Brosnan
I never really warmed to Brosnan. Some say it's no fault of his own because the scripts he had been given were poor. I guess I can't really disagree with that, because most of Brosnan's films rank down the bottom of my list of favourite Bond films - most notable being Die Another Day down the very bottom. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt, but so far, nothing I have seen convinces me that he should be ranked any higher, in my opinion.
6. Roger Moore
I dislike the jovial style that Moore brought to Bond. Maybe it was a sign of the times, maybe Moore was just being himself rather than trying to mirror Connery (which is commendable). But I don't see anything about Moore that convinces me that he is a cold secret service agent who kills people for a living.
1. Dalton: I think his depiction of Bond is quintessentially Fleming's vision and he resembles Fleming's image of Bond to – check out this link for the picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond
2. Craig: He's a fine actor and I loved CR... QoS less so but I still liked it.
3. Connery: Connery is brilliant. I've read other people's postings on here about Connery and don't feel that I can really add anything to what's already been written so I won't try to elaborate.
4. Brosnan: May have been higher on my list, perhaps even second but his scripts/films overall were pretty appalling for me. GE is OK but I'm a little bored of it now to be honest. And when I watch films like Heat, also made in 1995, GE looks so dated...
5. Lazenby: Agree wholeheartedly with DEFIANT 74205's view.
6. Moore: Dreadful.
Things I hate:
1. People who hate things.
2. Irony.
3. Lists.
Connery - The first the best
Brosnan - Had the looks and the style that fit Bond.
Dalton - I like his interpetation of Bond, especially in LTK
Moore - Perfect for the Bond of that period. A serious Bond would not have worked during that age, I know, I was there.
Lazenby - hard to judge with just one appearance, but the more I see OHMSS, the more he grows on me.
Craig - All wrong in the looks and style department, gives it all he has though.
Connery - The first the best
Brosnan - Had the looks and the style that fit Bond.
Dalton - I like his interpetation of Bond, especially in LTK
Moore - Perfect for the Bond of that period. A serious Bond would not have worked during that age, I know, I was there.
Lazenby - hard to judge with just one appearance, but the more I see OHMSS, the more he grows on me.
Craig - All wrong in the looks and style department, gives it all he has though.
Having re-watched a few lately, here's my current analysis. I like to think of all these Bonds in one room together.
1. Sean Connery (The best Bond)
2. Pierce Brosnan (Total package Bond)
3. Roger Moore (Mr. suave and sophisticated)
4. Daniel Craig (21st Century agent)
5. George Lazenby (The youthful, unique Bond)
6. Timothy Dalton (The believable agent)
I didn't like Craig at all at first. But I think his temperament is exactly how Ian Fleming wrote Bond. Nasty sense of humor, chip on his shoulder, cold hearted. Dalton was a favorite when I was younger, but the more I read the novels and watch the other actors, Timothy just didn't have the charisma or flippant, cool attitude that's prevalent even in the novels (even if he did read the damn things). Pierce was perfect to play a modern Bond if only his films were better. He was like a 2nd George Lazenby, but without the great film. Roger is awesome. Rewatching his films, he's so believably charming and has excellent timing. He just wasn't intimidating enough for me. And Sean really has everything. The look, the wit, the machismo, the style. Plus the acting chops, little moments in Dr. No just blow me away. He brought so much to the character of James Bond that was not in Ian Fleming's novels.
Truthfully, the margin of difference between each is relatively small, though I will say I still put Connery the most ahead of the next Bond. This list makes it seem like I dislike Brosnan because he's last; that's not true. I liked his Bond (and Moore's and Dalton's), even if too often he seemed more like the cliche of Bond and none of his films had a particularly strong script.
I don't want to be a selfish idiot but everyone who doesn't place Roger Moore in the bottom should be ashamed of himself. Here I go with my shot, feet fail me not...
1. Timothy Dalton (Read the books and tell me I'm wrong)
2. Sean Connery
3. Daniel Craig/George Lazenby (Had a hard time deciding so they'll have to share this one)
4. Pierce Brosnan (Now Brosnan was great, but his movies weren't)
5. Roger Moore
I don't want to be a selfish idiot but everyone who doesn't place Roger Moore in the bottom should be ashamed of himself. Here I go with my shot, feet fail me not...
1. Timothy Dalton (Read the books and tell me I'm wrong)
2. Sean Connery
3. Daniel Craig/George Lazenby (Had a hard time deciding so they'll have to share this one)
4. Pierce Brosnan (Now Brosnan was great, but his movies weren't)
5. Roger Moore
He was close to Fleming's Bond, at least in The Living Daylights. That dosen't mean he was the best.
1) Roger Moore (and I'm not ashamed)
2) Sean Connery
3) Pierce Brosnan Daniel Craig
5) George Lazenby
6) Timothy Dalton (and I have read the books, dammit)
I have always wondered if the six Bond actors have ever had, or have friendships with each other. Be cool if they had discussed their thoughts and opinions over theirs and each other's roles of 007. )
I have always wondered if the six Bond actors have ever had, or have friendships with each other. Be cool if they had discussed their thoughts and opinions over theirs and each other's roles of 007. )
Connery and Moore are friends; what thoughts they've shared about Bond, though, haven't been made public.
Comments
He was the best - he had the perfect mix of aggression, charm and wit, and he had the looks too. 'Sean Connery is James Bond', read the promotional poster for You Only Live Twice. I couldn't agree more. Sean Connery, under the direction of Terence Young, is the epitome of what James Bond should be. Maybe I'm biased, but three of my top five favourite films star Connery as Bond (Dr No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger)
2. Timothy Dalton
His portrayal of Bond is probably closest to Fleming's vision of Bond. What he lacked in terms of charm and charisma, he made up for in being a very believable cold, ruthless secret agent with a licence to kill. I also liked that before he played Bond, he studied the role by reading all of Fleming's Bond novels, and his mission was to bring back Fleming's Bond to the screen after too many years of Moore. I think he succeeded. The Living Daylights is the only Bond film not made in the 1960s in my top five favourites.
3. Daniel Craig
In terms of his portrayal as Bond, Craig's is almost a mirror image of Dalton. His Bond is a 'serious' Bond, and handled his role in Casino Royale extremely well. I still have reservations about the fact that he's the only Bond actor under 6ft tall, and the only Bond actor to have blond hair. But if it's his acting that counts, then he has done extremely well in that regard.
4. George Lazenby
Very underrated, I think. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is my second favourite Bond film. Maybe the fact that people don't rate him is partly because he was succeeding Sean Connery. But I thought he did a terrific job in his one and only Bond appearance. One thing I liked about Lazenby is his action scenes. I'm sure his service in the Australian Army helped
5. Pierce Brosnan
I never really warmed to Brosnan. Some say it's no fault of his own because the scripts he had been given were poor. I guess I can't really disagree with that, because most of Brosnan's films rank down the bottom of my list of favourite Bond films - most notable being Die Another Day down the very bottom. Maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt, but so far, nothing I have seen convinces me that he should be ranked any higher, in my opinion.
6. Roger Moore
I dislike the jovial style that Moore brought to Bond. Maybe it was a sign of the times, maybe Moore was just being himself rather than trying to mirror Connery (which is commendable). But I don't see anything about Moore that convinces me that he is a cold secret service agent who kills people for a living.
2. Craig: He's a fine actor and I loved CR... QoS less so but I still liked it.
3. Connery: Connery is brilliant. I've read other people's postings on here about Connery and don't feel that I can really add anything to what's already been written so I won't try to elaborate.
4. Brosnan: May have been higher on my list, perhaps even second but his scripts/films overall were pretty appalling for me. GE is OK but I'm a little bored of it now to be honest. And when I watch films like Heat, also made in 1995, GE looks so dated...
5. Lazenby: Agree wholeheartedly with DEFIANT 74205's view.
6. Moore: Dreadful.
1. People who hate things.
2. Irony.
3. Lists.
Brosnan - Had the looks and the style that fit Bond.
Dalton - I like his interpetation of Bond, especially in LTK
Moore - Perfect for the Bond of that period. A serious Bond would not have worked during that age, I know, I was there.
Lazenby - hard to judge with just one appearance, but the more I see OHMSS, the more he grows on me.
Craig - All wrong in the looks and style department, gives it all he has though.
1. Sean Connery (The best Bond)
2. Pierce Brosnan (Total package Bond)
3. Roger Moore (Mr. suave and sophisticated)
4. Daniel Craig (21st Century agent)
5. George Lazenby (The youthful, unique Bond)
6. Timothy Dalton (The believable agent)
I didn't like Craig at all at first. But I think his temperament is exactly how Ian Fleming wrote Bond. Nasty sense of humor, chip on his shoulder, cold hearted. Dalton was a favorite when I was younger, but the more I read the novels and watch the other actors, Timothy just didn't have the charisma or flippant, cool attitude that's prevalent even in the novels (even if he did read the damn things). Pierce was perfect to play a modern Bond if only his films were better. He was like a 2nd George Lazenby, but without the great film. Roger is awesome. Rewatching his films, he's so believably charming and has excellent timing. He just wasn't intimidating enough for me. And Sean really has everything. The look, the wit, the machismo, the style. Plus the acting chops, little moments in Dr. No just blow me away. He brought so much to the character of James Bond that was not in Ian Fleming's novels.
Craig
Lazenby
Dalton
Moore
Brosnan
Truthfully, the margin of difference between each is relatively small, though I will say I still put Connery the most ahead of the next Bond. This list makes it seem like I dislike Brosnan because he's last; that's not true. I liked his Bond (and Moore's and Dalton's), even if too often he seemed more like the cliche of Bond and none of his films had a particularly strong script.
Roger Moore
Timothy Dalton
Sean Connery
Daniel Craig
George Lazenby
1. Timothy Dalton
2. Roger Moore
3. Sean Connery
4. Daniel Craig
5. George Lazenby
6. Pierce Brosnan
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
1. Timothy Dalton (Read the books and tell me I'm wrong)
2. Sean Connery
3. Daniel Craig/George Lazenby (Had a hard time deciding so they'll have to share this one)
4. Pierce Brosnan (Now Brosnan was great, but his movies weren't)
5. Roger Moore
He was close to Fleming's Bond, at least in The Living Daylights. That dosen't mean he was the best.
Daniel Craig
Pierce Brosnan/ Dalton/ Lazenby
Roger Moore
2) Sean Connery
3) Pierce Brosnan
5) George Lazenby
6) Timothy Dalton (and I have read the books, dammit)
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
Connery and Moore are friends; what thoughts they've shared about Bond, though, haven't been made public.