Who's your favourite "James Bond" actor?

[wayfarer]

Originally Posted by suziginajackson

I know I'm the only person in the world who thinks this, but the best Bond was George Lazenby, and the best Bond film was 'On Her Majestys Secret Service' - tough, gritty and with the most downbeat ending imaginable

The good guys don't always win

Had Lazenby continued as Bond, the ending of OHMSS would have been at the beginning of Diamonds Are Forever

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Sean Finn,sorry Roger Moore,the slimiest,suavest Bond ever!

However,I did like Connery in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN.....

[pedromonkey]

gotta say im a big Timothy Dalton fan, great in his only two Bond films.

[platostotal]

I think Sean and Pierce fit Flemings idea of 007(who, lets face it is a British government hit-man to be honest) as a kind of dangerous charmer who always gets the ladies and the bad guy in the end with an almost thug like single mindedness. If I were Blofeld I would fear Connery above all. Now where's me cat?

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by pedromonkey

gotta say im a big Timothy Dalton fan, great in his only two Bond films.

I also liked Dalton's portrayal of Bond.

Brosnan is possibly my favourite Bond, and GoldenEye possibly my favourite Bond film, but it's hard for me to choose a favourite, and MUCH easier for me to say who I'm not keen on.

I'm not a fan of Moore and Craig's characterisation of Bond (Moore = too slimy; Craig = let's copy the Bourne films because they were doing well at the time Casino Royale was being made).

Craig playing Bond just doesn't feel like Bond. A Bond film is supposed to be a bit campy and cheesy and rife with double entendre's and silly gadgets. The grittier style of the Craig era just casts a shadow over what was once a fun franchise, for me; creating what is in essence a stale generic action film: Both Fleming and 'Cubby' Broccoli would be spinning in their respective graves!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by platostotal

. If I were Blofeld I would fear Connery above all.

I wouldn't. The Dalton Bond of License to Kill who went rogue on his own personal agenda is much more dangerous, as he has absolutely no rules.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Brosnan is possibly my favourite Bond, and GoldenEye possibly my favourite Bond film, but it's hard for me to choose a favourite, and MUCH easier for me to say who I'm not keen on.

Craig playing Bond just doesn't feel like Bond.

I know what you mean, but i love Casino Royale. It all fits in to place when Bond says who he is just as the film finishes. Problem is they followed it up with QoS, forgetting the audience wanted their Bond back, and producing a pretty forgettable film to boot.

Brosnan is also my favourite Bond (probably) his films range from pretty good to outstanding, and he seemed to be developing the Bond character with each film. Even though Die Another Day has some dodgy bits, it was on the whole a very good film with some superb set pieces. I think the sword fight is the best i have seen on film, you really think they are going for it, no holds barred.

[Prince_Vajda]

If I had to pick one Bond actor, it would be Connery.
Why?
He played Bond in Goldfinger - the best Bond movie ever. And then there's Diamonds Are Forever - my personal favourite.
I mainly associate Bond with Connery. Period.

Sean Connery

But I also have much love for Moore. He's witty, he's naughty, and still looks and acts like a fine British gentleman. I like him best in The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, two excellent flicks. He and his one-liners turned the series into real action-comedies, with the stress on comedy - which I liked very much!

Roger Moore

Dalton is an excellent actor. His tough and sarky Bond was totally different from Connery and Moore. In fact, he anticipated quite a bit the role of Craig, but with one huge difference. Let me repeat and specify what I alread said: Dalton is an excellent actor - while Craig is not. Dalton on his very personal vendetta in Licence To Kill emotionally affects me - Craig's portrayal of an ice-cold monster does not.

Timothy Dalton

Brosnan (who comes in fourth) is first and foremost a beau - but he's also a quite charismatic Bond, at least in the superb GoldenEye. But he had bad luck: all of his movies after the latter one at least partly sucked, with Tomorrow Never Dies being one of the weakest Bonds ever.

Lazenby (position five) fulfilled the task. He's not as bad as many people say - but his performance is quite wooden and not very memorable. I'm happy he only starred in one (overly long) Bond.

Craig (finishing last) is a very mediocre actor, and a total miscast for the character of James Bond - at least for my taste. He's stone-cold, uncharismatic, and has none of Bond's typical character traits (which is partly due to the style of the two movies he starred in).

Greetings!

PS. I haven't read any of Fleming's novels, so I cannot comment on how close any of the actors comes to the original Bond created by Fleming. But this would be a discussion more suitable for the other Bond thread anyhow.

[mark meakin]

Timothy Dalton was my favourite in two of my favourite Bond Movies.Lazenby was also better than lots of people make out in OHMSS & he could've been really good had he stuck with the series.OHMSS is in my top five & has one of the finest scores ever.

[Splatterdragon73]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I also liked Dalton's portrayal of Bond. Craig playing Bond just doesn't feel like Bond.

At the time of his 007 stint, the whole world and it's wife had the knives out for Dalton but in retrospect many now consider his peformance of a more maverick Bond to be one of the franchise's best. I just wonder how many of those now praising Dalton were also the ones complaining about him back in the day. I concur on Craig's contribution too and i still think he's not an ideal choice for the role.

Originally Posted by mark meakin

Timothy Dalton was my favourite. Lazenby was also better than lots of people make out in OHMSS & he could've been really good had he stuck with the series. OHMSS is in my top five & has one of the finest scores ever.

According to an interview with Brian Trenchard-Smith in the latest issue of The Dark Side, Lazenby was only too well aware after the fact that he'd dropped a major career clanger by forsaking any further appearances as Bond. I also agree OHMSS does indeed boast a superb score.