Who's your favourite "James Bond" actor?
 

I'm well aware of the fact that we already have a great "James Bond" thread, originated by Paul.

However...

...when discussing the "James Bond" movies, one question turns up quite regularly: who is the best "Bond" actor?

This thread is the place to discuss this specific question – which actor is your personal favourite, and why? Put your cards on the table by using the public multiple choice poll!

Is it...

I'm looking forward to some heated discussions, both emotional and friendly! :)

For all other questions and ideas concerning "James Bond", please use the original thread by Paul, which you can find here: http://www.cult-labs.com/forums/west...nd-thread.html

Greetings!

Bob Holness :)

Sorry can't vote on this.

As the Brigadier said of the Doctor - "Splendid chaps, all of them"

The same goes for Bond.

I grew up with Roger Moore, as Bond. Whilst I like Live and Let Die, TSWLM, Moonraker, and For Your Eyes Only, they're not my favourite Bond movies.

My favourite actor is, *shock! horror!* Daniel Craig. At first, I hated the idea of Craig being Bond. The initial teaser trailer did nothing for me. but that all changed with the main trailer. Specifically, it was the scene where Bond avoids Vespa on the road and totals the Aston Martin. It was something in Craig's eyes that made me think that's Bond. Casino Royale was genius, in my view. This movie went back to the essence of the Fleming novel and was a necessary reboot of the franchise. Quantum of Solace was just a very good epilogue to that story.

Timothy Dalton is the dark horse, but I liked his portrayal of a harder edged Bond. The Living Daylights mixed what we'd seen before in a Bond movie with a look to the future and how the Brosnan Bonds would shape. License to Kill, which should have been titled Licence Revoked, was a stab at getting more adult with the series and it failed but ultimately is an entertaining movie.

Next, must be George Lazenby; more for what he could have been. Every Bond fan knows the story of Lazenby's Bond. The "actor" has recounted it enough times:lol: OHMSS was a great story. Lazenby was fine in the role. Ok, so he wasn't an experienced actor but he got by. Had he continued, I think he might have grown into the role very well.

The Brosnan era was more hit than miss, but Tomorrow Never Dies is one of the most forgettable Bond movies of the lot. I hate Octopussy and dislike A View to a Kill but at least they're memorable for something. TND is just ordinary, despite having a kick-ass pre-credit sequence. The World Is Not Enough is one of my favourite Bond movies, spoilt by stupid casting (Denise Richards). It's also a missed opportunity. I felt it was a kind of sequel to OHMSS in that the main female character emulated Tracey in lots of ways and that's why Bond fell for her. But, I've seen no mention of that parallel anywhere.
Die Another Day was great fun, but dumb fun. Casino Royale was a breath of fresh air after that.

Next up: Sean. Need I say anymore? Despite him being fifth in my list, he was the most consistent Bond. I just think that gone are the days for anyone under 45 to think that Sean C was the Bond. He was brilliant, but not my favourite actor. *ducks rocks thrown by the Scotch Labbers;)

Last but not least (out of a great bunch) is Roger Moore. Some fun movies but he can't be compared with the above.:lol: More wooden than a piece of MFI furniture (actually, that's not difficult).

I've given an honest, but what I think will be an unpopular, view;)

David Warbeck almost had the role and should have been Bond. Period.

That would have been interesting:)

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

I also realy liked Lazenby, and OHMSS is one of my favourite Bond films too.

I agree. OHMSS is one of, if not the best Bond film and I really like Lazenby. He should've made a few more imo.

I hated the way every fight sequence was speeded up, it looked like a cartoon.

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

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

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

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

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?

I also liked Dalton's portrayal of Bond. :nod:

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!

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.

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.

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. :o
I mainly associate Bond with Connery. Period.

:first: 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!

:second: 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.

:third: 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.

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.

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.

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.:nod:

Roger Moore & Timothy Dalton are my 2 favourite Bond actors, for different reasons.

Roger Moore is just a class act. Super actor, totally tongue-in-cheek. I wouldn't call him slimy at all, but very smooth. He added levity to the roles and some much needed entertainment. Many of Connery's films were too serious for their own good. And I only began to really like Connery after he hit 50, grew a beard and had roles in films like THE NAME OF THE ROSE, INDY JONES LAST CRUSADE, JUST CAUSE, etc :p

Dalton on the other hand was probably the most talented actor ever to play Bond. He should really be a much bigger name than he is.

I'd like to pose a question, inspired by the suggestion of David Warbeck, the New Zealander, as Bond... If an American HAD to play the role of Bond (sacrilege, I know :eek::heh:) who would you most like it to be?

I would pick either...

TOM SELLECK
CHRISTOPHER GEORGE
HARRISON FORD

I wouldn't mind seeing Clive Owen tackle the part of Bond and i think he'd be better in the role than Craig.

Also, where non-British actors are concerned Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and a fame-era Mel Gibson before controversy caused his career to crumble.:)

I like Tim Doltan because he was in the 1st Bond film I watched - Licence To Kill but in general I can't get away with Moore.

So my faves are in this order

Sean Connery
Piearce Brosnon
Tim Doltan
Daniel Craig
George Lazenby
Roger Moore

Dalton was great and very underrated, my third favourite after Connery and Craig. I do like Moore and Brosnan but in both cases, the last of their films were two of the worst of the series.

Lazenby is my least favourite even though I love OHMSS. Would have been even better had Connery been in the film.

:eek: No way... A VIEW TO A KILL was an absolute classic!! A film starring Roger Moore, Patrick Macnee as well as Grace Jones and Christopher Walken as 2 psychopaths, could never be anything less than utterly brilliant!

A View to a Kill is a fun movie for sure, it has a really kitschy appeal, but it's a pretty lousy Bond film. Jones is wooden beyond belief and Walken is extremely hammy. Moore comes off worse though, it really was a case of a sequel too far, as he looks way too old and his scenes with Tanya Roberts come across as being more than a little creepy!

Gotta agree with you there and it's painfully obvious Moore is doubled during the fight scenes too if i recall rightly. Good Duran Duran theme though imo and isn't a pre-fame Dolph Lundgren also supposed to have a bit-part in the film or am i wrong?:)

Lundgren is in a scene at a racetrack, don't recall him speaking. He was at the time going out with Grace Jones, so you can see the connection!

As for the obvious use of a stunt man, the scene in which Bond flies around The streets of Paris on an increasingly trashed Renault 11, you can blatantly see a double, complete with Ace Ventura-style quiff!

*looks at username*

It's got to be Dalton, The Living Daylights & Licence To Kill represent my #1 and #2 favourite Bond films. As a big fan of Dalton both as an actor and a Bond, I can say without any doubt, that we were robbed of more Bond films. Given how little he aged, I believe that he could have continued as Bond through the 1990's, turning 54 (though looking still in his 40's) in 1998. We would then enter a new millenium with James Purefoy (who screentested for Bond in 1994) as Bond in 2000.


Ranking the actors...?

1. Dalton
2. Connery
-----
3. Moore
-----
4. Brosnan
5. Lazenby
-----
6. Craig

Oh, and Warbeck as Bond? Yes, I agree. The David Warbeck era: 1974 - 1985. Yes, am a Bond geek enough to have created my own Bond timeline (actos, films and years).

Glad to see Moore doing well in the poll there! I'm a big fan of the books and to my mind none of them come close to that character but then neither should they because whilst I love the books some of them would make for lousy films.

Connery was cool but I do wonder at his judgement - Never Say Never Again is unforgivable crap that he went along with (although let's be clear here - I'd happily make a crap film if the money was right) compared to the oft-derided A View to a Kill which at least delivers entertainment in spades - one big sequence after another with the melding of Moore, Macnee, Walken and Grace Jones - it's deranged!

The hard hard action of OHMSS is quite something though - Lazenby is no actor but he's hard as nails in the action and it's one creepy story.

The shame now is you can't look forward to a Bond film. Apart from Casino Royale the last good one was Goldeneye and the last film was so staggeringly awful I'd rather re-watch the MFI-funded Never Say Never Again... hence the title ;)

I can't agree with that last part. Quantum isn't the greatest although it's a lot better to watch it straight after Casino. Still, it's a damn sight better than the whole of Moore's output!

A View To A Kill is often derided for a reason. It's utter crap. :)

But what the hell is going on in Quantum? It's one CGI green screen white noise fest after another and they're running because? I dunno - I guess I need the nice simple dynamics of a Moore film :couch:

You aren't seriously saying Quantum is better than Live and Let Die are you? :crazy:

And where is there a boring moment in For Your Eyes Only (although that computer looked well pants even in the 80s!)? Plus what a theme song!

You are having a laugh :p. There's more charisma in Moore's little finger than than Craig could ever dream of having.

....and i can barely take my eyes off Octopussy. :eyebrows:

Although there - despite the lurid title - I did find myself nodding off a bit - not a lot happens...

True it is the worst one of Moore's. Its still better than QOS though.

I loved Casino Royale and couldn't believe how badly they messed up with QOS.

Well this is the problem - after CR expectations were raised but it was like Goldeneye all over again - fresh breath of air, new start then followed by wildly tedious exercises in dull plots, thin villains and a curious lack of flair or glamour.