# Best/Favorite James Bond Actor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687 "2012-02-23T02:52:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/21 "2012-02-23T21:30:37Z")
Well, here’s my vote for Brosnan. I thought he was the quintessential Bond: Dapper, elegant, sophisticated. Connery was very good and a very close second. I didn’t really like Casino Royale much, and Craig was definitely too gritty. I did like him in his teeny-tiny shorts, though. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/22 "2012-02-24T09:26:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Connery was traditionally considered the best, because he was the first exposure to Bond for most. But his acting was wooden, and he couldn’t pull off the comic quips. However, if his acting was wooden, Lazenby’s was made of basalt. > > I don’t like any of the newer Bonds, or the films. The character and concept are anachronistic. lol…amazing post. If this guy thinks that Sean Connery is a wooden actor and that his comic lines werent perfectly executed..then what is there to say? By what standard of measurement could this guy possibly be using? Connery was the gold standard of the action quip and no one has done it better since. And, in the second quoted paragraph, he seems to indicate he has a problem with the premise of a Brit (or presumably an American) saving the world. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/23 "2012-02-24T10:59:43Z")
I think Moore’s Bond depended on which Moore showed up during filming. In The Man with the Golden Gun and For Your Eyes Only, Moore played it seriously and it showed. While Moonraker and Live and Let die… For Moore actually playing 007 as in the books, see [Ffolkes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081809/) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/24 "2012-02-24T11:26:01Z")
What, no Bob Holness or Barry Nelson? I’m disappointed. My quandary is that I liked Brosnan’s Bond but hated the films he was in, which is to say he was the right actor but the scripts were shit. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/25 "2012-02-24T12:36:24Z")
I have not actually seen any of his Bond movies, but I have to say that Daniel Craig _looks_ the part far more than anybody, including Connery, who is _my_ Bond (i.e., the actor I first saw as Bond). All the others were just pretty boys, really. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/26 "2012-02-24T13:16:44Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I have not actually seen any of his Bond movies, but I have to say that Daniel Craig _looks_ the part far more than anybody, including Connery, who is _my_ Bond (i.e., the actor I first saw as Bond). > > All the others were just pretty boys, really. According to the Wiki page, Fleming pictured Bond like [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HoagyCarmichael.jpg). Who’s a pretty boy then? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/27 "2012-02-24T17:18:33Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > According to the Wiki page, Fleming pictured Bond like [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HoagyCarmichael.jpg). Who’s a pretty boy then? I dunno… that guy looks like an average [looking] guy dressed in a shirt and tie with his hair neatly combed. ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/28 "2012-02-24T17:36:23Z")
Connery at the beginning **was** James Bond. But he did far too may and was way too old for the role by the time he finished. Pierce Brosnan was similarly afflicted in this regard. In his last fim, where Halle Berre comes out of the sea a la Ursula Andress, Brosnan’s old man chicken neck was really disturbing to me. He looked like a right dirty old man, watching the beautiful young woman in her bikini. Daniel Craig is absolutely spot on now, so I hope he doesn’t go the same way and keep on playing Bond beyond the age where it’s in any way reasonable for a man of his age to be the number one man in the field of international action man. I do see the folly of looking for “reasonable” in a James Bond fim, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/29 "2012-02-24T17:48:28Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > lol…amazing post. If this guy thinks that Sean Connery is a wooden actor and that his comic lines werent perfectly executed..then what is there to say? By what standard of measurement could this guy possibly be using? Connery was the gold standard of the action quip and no one has done it better since. Yes, I’m sure your opinion is the only valid one. Next time I’ll consult you first before forming my own opinions. > [@](#): > > And, in the second quoted paragraph, he seems to indicate he has a problem with the premise of a Brit (or presumably an American) saving the world. Yes, I have a problem with the idea that a secret agent in a suit saves the world. It’s a 60s fictional concept that is now out of date. What exactly would a secret agent be doing these days? Engaging the Iranian government in a game of golf to uncover their evil plans? Austin Powers was the natural successor to Bond. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/30 "2012-02-24T17:49:52Z")
I voted for Craig, but he is almost a “re-imagining” of the classic Bond. Of the earlier ones, I’m in the minority and like the steely gaze of Dalton. Connery’s fine too though. I don’t think I’ve seen the Lazenby/Niven portrayals. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/31 "2012-02-24T20:27:33Z")
This is not a matter about which I care deeply, but it is a travesty for Sean Connery to get less than 50% of the vote. He is Bond on film. Roger Moore should be a very pale and distant second. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/32 "2012-02-24T20:41:53Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > This is not a matter about which I care deeply, but it is a travesty for Sean Connery to get less than 50% of the vote. > > He is Bond on film. Roger Moore should be a very pale and distant second. I wish to explore that: How much is it Moore’s fault? If he’s handed corny scripts, there’s only so much that Shakesperian level acting can do with it. (Moore was limited, but so was Connery, back in the sixties.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/33 "2012-02-24T21:22:08Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > I wish to explore that: > > How much is it Moore’s fault? > > If he’s handed corny scripts, there’s only so much that Shakesperian level acting can do with it. (Moore was limited, but so was Connery, back in the sixties.) Yeah. I doubt he had that much say in how the character was written for a specific movie. He was getting old also, he could have been a much better Bond if he started years earlier. That must have had some affect on the scripts and theme of the movies. He had to do more and more (groan) of his action wearing suits. In addition, it was the 70s, not the 60s. Movie making had changed. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/34 "2012-02-24T21:32:10Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yeah. I doubt he had that much say in how the character was written for a specific movie. He was getting old also, he could have been a much better Bond if he started years earlier. That must have had some affect on the scripts and theme of the movies. He had to do more and more (groan) of his action wearing suits. In addition, it was the 70s, not the 60s. Movie making had changed. Age… I agree that when Moore left the scene and Timothy Dalton began _The Living Daylights_ with an energetic action scene on Gibraltar, I was surprised (and pleased) to see an actor who could put more energy into his stunt work, and how much difference it could make. I yield the floor. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/35 "2012-02-24T23:25:25Z")
I’m not a fan of the genre and perhaps I never saw a bond film to the end because they are never entertaining to me, but if I keep watching a few minutes more while zapping on the TV it is always because of the irresistible tounge in cheekness and obvious ad libbing by Sean Connery; so he gets my vote, that’s the epitome of James Bond to me. Others, they’re just some bloke in an action movie. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/36 "2012-02-25T00:13:31Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > What, no Bob Holness or Barry Nelson? I’m disappointed. Or Woody Allen (Jimmy Bond)? I voted, like most people did, for Sean Connery. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/37 "2012-02-25T00:27:02Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Well, here’s my vote for Brosnan. I thought he was the quintessential Bond: Dapper, elegant, sophisticated. Connery was very good and a very close second. Agreed, Brosnan is the best Bond, but only in the best Bond movie, Goldeneye. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/38 "2015-12-01T01:00:29Z")
Cast my vote for Daniel Craig, I’m warming up to him and I hope he plays one or two more installments. Pierce Brosnan was my first Bond as a child in the nineties. “Golden Eye” was the best of the Brosnan era and he was a good Bond actor, but Craig is superior and gets the vote. Daniel Craig followed by Pierce Brosnan. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/39 "2015-12-01T01:24:03Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Dalton is Bond. Quoted for truth. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687/40 "2015-12-01T01:34:30Z")
I likewise voted for Timothy Dalton, becoming the 12th person to do so. (He still trails Connery by a substantial margin in the poll, however). _The Living Daylights_ is my favorite Bond film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-favorite-james-bond-actor/613687.md?page=3)