As we wait to see who play James Bond next, here are all seven — oh sorry, we mean 007 — James Bond actors ranked, from Daniel Craig to Sean Connery to David Niven.
Since his big-screen debut in 1960’s Dr. No, Bond has been an indelible screen presence — a man who changes with the times, but doesn’t change too much. So the actors who play him need a classic quality, even as they stay at the edge of their eras.
And with that, here are all 007 James Bond actors ranked, from least good to best.
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Barry Nelson (Honorable Mention)
CBS. Public Domain.
If you’re saying “Barry who?” please put some respect on the name of Barry Nelson, who was the first actor to play Bond onscreen.
He appeared in a 1954 episode of the little-remembered series Climax in an episode called “Casino Royale” that was, of course, also the first 007 novel by James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
Nelson was the first and only American to play Bond, and never played him on the big screen. But we’re including him here because every time we write anything about James Bond, some super spy infiltrates the comments to remind us that Nelson, not Sean Connery, was technically the first Bond.
So here he is, honorably mentioned.
Number 7: David Niven
Barbara Bouchet and David Niven in Casino Royale. Columbia.
Does David Niven really belong on the list of James Bond actors? Many would say no, which is why he’s in last place. The super-suave actor was Ian Fleming’s first choice to play Bond onscreen before that honor went to Sean Connery (or Barry Nelson, if you’re counting TV.)
Niven ended up playing Bond a single time, in the 1967 film Casino Royale, which is a spy satire loosely based on Ian Fleming’s novel. If you don’t think a film making fun of Bond films counts as a Bond film, you probably don’t consider Niven a proper 007.
Casino Royale came out, rather confusingly, in the same year as the fifth Connery Bond film, You Only Live Twice. (That was certainly true for Bond in 1967, when he got to be played by two different stars.)
But wait, it gets more confusing: One of the conceits of Casino Royale is that there are multiple Bonds. And to make things more confusing still, the 1967 Casino Royale bears little resemblance to the 2006 Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig or the 1954 televised version starring Barry Nelson.
The film also holds the distinction of including several stars who appeared in other Bond films, most notably Ursula Andress, who can be seen here in a series of behind the scenes images from Dr. No.
Niven is the only actor, besides Connery, to play Bond in a film not made by EON Productions. More on that soon.
Number 6: George Lazenby
George Lazenby and Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. United Artists
Lazenby played arguably the most tragic Bond — his sole outing as 007, in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, ends with him marrying the enchanting Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) — only to see her killed in a drive-by shooting by Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas — who, as Blofeld, doesn’t love ya, baby.)
Lazenby presented himself quite respectably as the first EON Bond besides Sean Connery, who is not easy to follow. Fortunately for him, Niven had loosened up audiences to the idea that more than one actor could play 007.
Lazenby was also notable as the sole Australian to play Bond, though we could get another someday soon if Jacob Elordi fans get their wish.
Number 5: Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux on the set of No Time to Die. MGM – Credit: United Artists
That’s right, we think Craig — the latest actor to play Bond — was only the fifth best. Yes, he was the buffest of any Bond, and deserves points for that. But when the Bond producers decided to go dark and gritty for 2006’s Casino Royale, they sacrificed some of the charm, and yes, camp, of past Bond films.
Good an actor as Craig is — he’s especially great in 2004’s Layer Cake, the role that surely played a big part in getting him cast as Bond — he was the only James Bond actor who seemed fairly miserably being James Bond.
If there’s one thing we know about Bond, it’s that he’s learned to laugh at life, and death. Taking that trait from Craig’s Bond was, in our opinion, a mistake.
Also Read: All 7 Batman Actors Ranked Worst to Best
Number 4: Roger Moore
(L-R) Barbara Bach, Curt Jürgens and Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me. United Artists. – Credit: United Artists
Yes, Roger Moore is the campiest, silliest Bond, the 007 who strained credulity by bouncing from Blaxploitation in Live and Let Die to sci-fi in Moonraker. His Bond often seemed to be chasing whatever was the cool trend of the ’70s and early ’80s.
But Moore had a deadpan charm that made it work. He never seemed to take himself too seriously, and always seemed to be having a blast.
And after Sean Connery invented and defined the role, who can blame Moore for putting his own wilder, weirder stamp on it? Maybe Moore’s Bond films weren’t serious enough for some people’s tastes, but at least they never took themselves too seriously.
Number 3: Pierce Brosnan
Halle Berry and Pierce Brosnan in a publicity still for Die Another Day. MGM
Pierce Brosnan was in many ways a perfect Bond: sly, witty, crafty, fun, dapper — but also a convincing secret agent.
Brosnan’s name started getting floated as James Bond as soon as he popped up on the ’80s series Remington Steele, and he almost got the role instead of the next Bond actor on our list. But it’s too everyone’s benefit that his casting didn’t happen too soon. By becoming Bond in his early 40s, Brosnan arrived at the 007 franchise with grit and gravitas he may have lacked a decade earlier.
Alas, Brosnan suffered the indignity of uttering the worst line in any Bond movie, the one about Christmas coming but once a year in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough. But don’t blame Pierce Brosnan, who didn’t write the movie.
Number 2: Timothy Dalton
(L-R) Carey Lowell, Timothy Dalton and Talisa Soto in a publicity still for License to Kill. MGM
Hear us out on this one, because we know some of you won’t agree that someone who only played James Bond twice should be second on our list.
We appreciate that Timothy Dalton played the Bond who felt the most like a real person, and the most like someone we would want as a friend. In a concession to the safe-sex morality of the AIDS era, he was more of a one-woman man than past Bonds. (OK, maybe a two-woman man). Crucially, he seemed the most capable of real human emotion.
He looked just about perfect, he seemed both tough and sensitive, and he had a first-class smirk. The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill may not be the most popular Bond movies, but they provided a bridge between the fairly sexist Cold War relic Bond of old and the more thoughtful Bonds of Generations X, Y and Z.
Number 1: Sean Connery
Sean Connery and Ursula Andress on the set of Dr. No. United Artists. – Credit: United Artists
All that stuff we just said? In spite of it, Connery’s Cold War relic Bond is still the all-time best, because he did not care what anyone thought of him.
Sean Connery’s Bond was tough, funny, sardonic, self-aware, and smart. He famously got the job by swaggering out of his audition and down the street with perfect confidence, and kept it by keeping audiences perpetually amused. He is what modern audiences would consider by far the most problematic Bond, but he’s also shielded by the armor of his time.
Oh: And he was the only Bond to star in both EON films and a non-EON film, 1985’s Never Say Never Again.
If you liked this list, you might also enjoy this list of Bond Girl Names Ranked, from Silly to Sensational.
Main image: A promotional image from License to Kill. MGM
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