How Every James Bond Actor Compares To The Original 007
In 1953, British author Ian Fleming penned his first novel, Casino Royale, at the center of which is a blunt Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) agent by the name of James Bond—code number 007. The fictional character is an agglomeration of all the secret agents and commandos Fleming met during his time as an intelligence officer for his Majesty’s Government during World War II. Fleming’s leading man soon became a cultural phenomenon ready to make the leap off the page and onto the screen. What ensued is the longest continually running film series of all time, spanning 24 official films (because Never Say Never Again is not an official Bond movie) over half a century with six actors taking on the coveted role of James Bond.
Apart from obvious physical differences, each actor has brought his own interpretation of the British secret agent to the screen. This individual interpretation, combined with evolving cultural influences and updated narratives for new geopolitical landscapes, results in each man leaving a unique mark on the role. Each actor’s performance, in many ways, coincides with and differs from the physical appearance, temperament, and actions of Ian Fleming’s original 007, but it is Timothy Dalton who most closely resembles the literary character. Keep in mind the closeness of a performance to the original character does not necessarily correlate with the quality of the performance.
Ian Fleming’s James Bond, generally described as having “dark, rather cruel good looks,” keeps a consistent appearance throughout the author’s eleven novels. An exact description in From Russia With Love describes the secret agent as follows: "Name: Bond, James. Height: 183cm, weight: 76 kilograms; slim build; eyes: blue; hair: black; scar down right cheek and on left shoulder; signs of plastic surgery on back of right hand; all-around athlete; expert pistol shot, boxer, knife-thrower; does not use disguises."
Fleming even had a specific actor in mind for Bond, the singer/songwriter, and actor Hoagy Carmichael. Characters point out Bond’s resemblance to Carmichael’s bone structure and “black hair falling down over the right eyebrow.” However, Bond’s “cruel mouth and cold eyes” make for a more ruthless appearance, and his scars leave little doubt of a dark past.
Fleming’s Bond novels are often dark with little or no humor, a stark contrast to what many fans of the films throughout the vast majority of the long-running series have grown accustomed to seeing. The original 007 could best be described as a tragic character with a dark past whose love for strong alcohol, high-nicotine cigarettes, and even recreational drugs help to blunt the effects of the job or heighten the sensation of life in the face of death. In the novels, Bond has a license to kill, but that doesn’t mean he’s quick to brandish his gun. He doesn’t enjoy killing, and he never kills in cold blood, and in fact, sometimes, he hardly fires a single shot. Fleming’s 007 is a spy born from the shadows of a world at war. He is not an action hero.
Many Hollywood stars were thrown around as possible fits for James Bond’s big-screen debut in 1962, but in the end, it was a little-known Scottish actor named Sean Connery who got the part. He starred in six Bond films from 1962-1971. Although a bit taller than the original Bond, Connery generally fits the physical bill. He’s got Carmichael’s strong chin, black hair, a slim physique, and looks to be an all-around athlete, probably because he was a bodybuilder before an actor. Connery may not have blue eyes, but there is a hint of a cruel core underneath the charming façade.
While certainly embodying the cold-blooded nature of James Bond, Connery also introduces a bit of wit into his charismatic performance. The darker themes and harder substances were left to be uncovered at a later date. Connery’s Bond isn’t tragic; he isn’t damaged. He sets the precedent of the debonair spy many recall when hearing the name James Bond. Women fall prey to his good looks and charm. Men must combat his cunning intelligence and deadly skills, skills which, like the original Bond, Connery doesn’t employ as much as his later counterparts.
After Sean Connery’s first departure as James Bond, the producers turned to George Lazenby, an Australian model with no prior film experience. At age 29, Lazenby was the youngest actor to play Bond and the only non-European. He starred in only one Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Like his predecessor, Lazenby was a bit taller than the original 007 with darker eyes, but he maintained other trademark attributes like a strong chin, black hair, and slim build. However, “cruel” and “cold,” words commonly used to describe Bond’s original look, simply don’t apply to Lazenby.
Certainly embodying the physical presence of Bond, Lazenby didn’t quite carry the same charismatic appeal as Connery. That’s not to say he was more like Fleming’s hardened original though. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service certainly looked to follow in Connery’s footsteps with a charming, debonair Bond that sidesteps any dark undertones. Less cold-war spy and more swinging sex symbol, Lazenby was certainly a product of the time, as was the story of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. This would explain the mere five bodies Lazenby’s Bond racks up during the movie’s 2hr 22min runtime. Though Lazenby emphasizes espionage over action, his mission requires a disguise—something Fleming explicitly states Bond never wears.
English actor Roger Moore was almost cast several times as Bond before he was eventually cast, and had experience in the spy genre already under his belt as the lead role in the television series The Saint. He would go on to star in seven Bond films from 1973-1985, more than any other actor. Moore has nearly every physical attribute down, save for his light brown hair. What sets him apart from his predecessors is his blue eyes, the first time an actor shared this feature with the original 007.
Where Moore really deviates from the original Bond is in the temperament of the character and tone of the films. Moore embraced a more light-hearted, romantic romp through the world of international espionage, more often making love than war. While this approach completely abandoned the darker themes of Fleming’s character, it did make room for a lower body count. In fact, while Moore’s Bond killed on average a higher amount per film than Connery, he actually only fires his gun once in Moonraker!
Classically trained Welsh stage actor Timothy Dalton took up the mantle of 007 for only two Bond movies in the late-1980s, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill. Dalton shares a close physical resemblance to the original 007, checking every box including the hair falling over the right eyebrow.
Dalton set out to make his mark on the iconic role with a wholly new approach toward Bond, and one vastly different than his predecessors’. The dark themes of the novels rise to the surface with Dalton’s portrayal. Gone are the days of humorous quips and innuendos; he is cold, ruthless, and edgy. But much like Fleming’s original, Dalton’s Bond still doesn’t take pleasure in killing. In fact, he passes up the opportunity to kill on orders upon sniffing out an amateur on the other end of his rifle in The Living Daylights. He certainly passes the eye test, and Dalton’s performance proves his accuracy in portraying Bond’s original temperament.
Irish-born actor Pierce Brosnan played the iconic secret agent in four Bond films from 1995-2002. Brosnan shares the closest physical resemblances to the original 007, checking every box that Dalton does plus being about half an inch closer to the six-foot mark. The revamping of the character for the turn of the century brought more action that showcased Brosnan’s athleticism, another feature of Fleming’s original.
Audiences were not quite ready for the dark turn Dalton’s Bond took, so after a longer-than-usual hiatus, Brosnan returned to the character to its film origins. Like Connery, Brosnan deftly maneuvers the line between cold, ruthless killer and charming, charismatic ladies’ man. As previously mentioned, with the approaching turn of the century came a new Bond full of blockbuster action. Though great stunts for a visual medium, diving off dams, jumping from planes, and tsunami surfing are not congruent with the actions of the original 007.
English actor Daniel Craig will soon star in his fifth and final Bond film, No Time to Die. There was much controversy around the casting of Craig back in 2005 stemming from his physical appearance, largely because he doesn’t hit the six-foot mark, has blonde hair, and is more muscular than the original description. He does, however, sport the shortest hair yet along with blue eyes and a strong jawline reminiscent of Carmichael.
Perhaps the most defining feature of Fleming’s original 007 was the scar down the right cheek, something no film adaptation has yet to include. While this works on the page to add depth and mystery to the character, it’s not exactly something you would want the audience to see across the face of your leading man. Scars are something that are most frequently reserved for the Bond villains on screen, but if any Bond has embraced the original’s scarred body, it would be Daniel Craig. His face is covered in cuts for a period of time in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, and he reveals a nasty scar across his chest in Skyfall. Craig’s Bond takes the unblemished, refined character of past films and does a complete 180.
Timothy Dalton approaches the line of congruency with the original 007’s temperament, but it is Daniel Craig who hits it on the head. Bond's incessant consumption of alcohol has remained constant from Fleming’s pages right up to modern-day films, but there is one thing the films dare not tackle—Bond’s drug use. This is something the novels are unabashedly candid about as the original 007 often supplements his alcohol with drugs like Benezdrine. In a recent GQ interview, Craig says, “I know we can’t have him having amphetamine and speed and doing all these things. But inside, I know I’m doing that. And I wanted to inform the part and say that’s what he is.” That would explain the unhinged interpretation audiences were shocked to see in Craig’s portrayal. Fleming, however, would not have been shocked in the least. That’s the character Fleming wrote: dark, edgy, and unhinged.
Author Ian Fleming crafted one of the most memorable characters in literary history when he put James Bond onto the page, an MI6 agent inspired by real-life individuals Fleming met during his time in World War II. Unlike the film adaptations the world has grown accustomed to, the original 007 was a tragic character with a dark past. Each of the six actors to portray Bond on film has gotten a number of things right and wrong in comparison to the original 007 but Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig were the only ones to truly embody Bond’s dark nature and edgy temperament. Following the release of No Time to Die, Craig will relinquish his role to a new actor who will predictably undergo the same comparisons to the original 007 as the six previous men have. The height may move, the hair may change, the mindset may evolve, but the name will stay the same Bond… James Bond.