All 7 James Bond Actors, Ranked From Worst To Best

Few film roles are as coveted or scrutinized as James Bond. The popular spy franchise has been a cinematic staple since 1962's "Dr. No," starring Sean Connery as the British secret agent. Between that and 2021's "No Time to Die," there have been 25 movies in the official franchise, along with two non-canon films, while a total of seven people have played the character on the big screen. There was also a 1954 one-hour TV movie adapted from writer Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale," starring American actor Barry Nelson, but its connection to the official mythology is even more tenuous.

While every fan has their favorite Bond actor, it's not easy to rank the seven who have portrayed the character. Two of the film actors only played 007 in a single film, while the others knocked out anywhere from two to seven entries. It's also easy to pick a Bond actor if they're the one people watched the most growing up.

However you rank them, it's also not as simple as pointing to the best-performing films, because a great Bond flick isn't always successful because of who's playing 007. Many James Bond movies, for instance, also feature popular bad guys who contribute to a film's success. Still, determining the greatest Bond is subjective, so we're ranking the best Bond actors on three key factors: the quality of their film(s), the manner in which they played the character, and their overall popularity among the fans.

David Niven played James Bond in the first film version of Ian Fleming's debut 007 novel, "Casino Royale." The story was previously turned into a TV movie, which isn't considered canon, and neither is this 1967 film adaptation, which is largely a spoof of the James Bond series. But despite being a parody, "Casino Royale" actually has some merit, as Fleming at one time envisioned Niven in the role.

Fleming also considered Richard Burton, Cary Grant, and James Mason. The writer saw Niven in particular as a gentleman, whereas upon meeting Sean Connery, he reportedly said (via Variety), "I want an elegant man, not this roughneck." Fleming lost that fight, but years later, Niven had his chance to play the character — sort of.

"Casino Royale" is a comedy through and through, starring the likes of Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, Orson Welles, and a slew of comic actors. Niven's Bond is retired but forced back into the game after M (John Huston) blows up his home. The film becomes more surreal as it continues, leading to a ridiculous climactic confrontation that follows the renaming of every agent at MI6 as "James Bond" to sow confusion. It's an absurd take on Fleming's novel that's a product of its time and a fun escape for fans of the franchise. Niven is great in the role, but it's too far removed from the established character for most loyal Bond viewers.

Anyone who came into the role of James Bond after Sean Connery was destined to face massive expectations — and possibly criticism — from the series' fans. What they got was Australian model George Lazenby, who had never acted in any theater, television, or film projects, having only appeared in a handful of commercials. Producer Albert R. Broccoli met him at a barber shop, and he was impressed, so he invited Lazenby to audition.

After punching out a stunt performer and lying about his experience, Lazenby became the new Bond and starred in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," which wasn't appreciated at the time but is now considered to be one of the best Bond movies. In the film, Bond goes up against Ernst Blofeld (Telly Savalas), who plots to blackmail the world through the use of a bacteriological weapon. Bond attempts to stop him, while also taking time along the way to meet, fall in love with, and marry Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg).

The film was successful enough that Lazenby was offered a $1 million, six-movie contract to continue as 007, which he declined. Lazenby explained his reason for walking away to The Guardian in 2019, saying, "I had advice that James Bond was over anyway. It was Sean Connery's gig, and, being in the '60s, it was love, not war. You know, hippy time. And I bought into that." While his time as Bond was over, Lazenby went on to have a long career in both entertainment and real estate, retiring in 2024.

Timothy Dalton had an interesting path to becoming James Bond because he was sought after for the role for much of his career. He was first approached in his mid-20s to play Bond, but he declined, not wanting to follow in Sean Connery's footsteps. The producers came calling again when Roger Moore retired from the series, but Dalton's schedule wouldn't allow it. They turned to Pierce Brosnan instead, but he was locked into his contract on the TV show "Remington Steele." By this time, however, Dalton was free to take the part.

Dalton's first film was 1987's "The Living Daylights," which saw Bond investigate a new KGB plot to kill all defectors. As he digs deeper, he finds another, more sinister plot involving an arms dealer and Russian assassins. The movie did well, solidifying Dalton as the new Bond, and he followed it with 1989's "Licence to Kill," which was the first Bond film that didn't take its title from an Ian Fleming story or novel.

The film is much darker than its predecessor, and one of the least successful in the franchise, although Dalton was signed for a third entry. Unfortunately, Dalton only ended up playing James Bond twice, as legal issues between Eon Productions and MGM ran out the clock on his contract, opening the door for his successor.

After Timothy Dalton departed and "Remington Steele" concluded, Pierce Brosnan was finally able to play James Bond. He did so first in 1995's "GoldenEye," which spawned what is widely considered as the most successful movie-licensed video game of all time. "GoldenEye" sees Bond work to stop a mysterious Russian crime syndicate from using a space-based weapon against London. The film did well and Brosnan became synonymous with the character, giving him the opportunity to play Bond in three subsequent films.

Brosnan was inspired by two James Bond legends in crafting his take on the character: Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Indeed, he does come off as an amalgamation of the two, but with his own inimitable style thrown into the mix. Brosnan played Bond from 1995 to 2002, finishing his time in the franchise with "Die Another Day." As Bond films go, it's not the greatest and features some of the worst CGI in the franchise when Bond parachutes onto some waves and surfs his way to safety.

The film didn't do incredibly well with critics, although it was, at the time, the highest-grossing outing in the Bond franchise. Brosnan was on board to reprise the role in a fifth film, which went into development, but the producers ultimately opted to end Brosnan's tenure as the gentleman spy,. It would be four years before the franchise was rebooted with Daniel Craig.

Once George Lazenby moved out of the way, Sean Connery returned for 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever," which would be his final film in the official franchise produced by Eon Productions. After he departed, the producers tapped Roger Moore to play 007 in 1973's "Live and Let Die." It wasn't his first time playing a similar character, as Moore gained fame portraying Simon Templar in "The Saint." He performed in seven Bond films between 1973 and 1985, making Moore the actor with the most Bond movies in his filmography.

Moore found his way to the role through his friendship with producer Albert R. Broccoli, and he began a massive fitness regimen to get into secret agent shape. While not a critical favorite, "Live and Let Die" was a box office success, paving the way for hits such as 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me" and 1979's "Moonraker." Moore decided to leave the series after 1985's "A View to a Kill," but not because he wasn't good or his films weren't doing well — he felt he'd gotten too old.

At the time, Moore was 58, and he said (via Digital Spy), "Physically I was okay, but facially I started looking ... well, the leading ladies were young enough to be my granddaughter, and it becomes disgusting." Moore is also one of several James Bond actors who have passed away, having died from cancer in May 2017 at the age of 89.

Any time a new actor is cast to play James Bond, the fandom goes wild with speculation, recriminations, and a variety of other emotions. That's certainly true of Daniel Craig, whom outlets noted at the time of his casting was the first blond Bond. That seemed to upset a lot of folks because Craig bucked the typical style of previous Bond actors. He didn't have the physical appearance expected of the character; some felt he wouldn't be in shape to take on the part or convincingly handled the action.

Craig's take on Bond differed from his predecessors, and it's also what made him great in the role. His rebooted Bond was darker in tone than others, and he embraced the role's physicality in a way few could match. While he only appeared as Bond in five films, falling short of Sean Connery and Roger Moore, Craig served the longest, from 2006 until 2021. He joined the franchise when he was 38, but by the time he was finished, Craig was 53.

Like other Bond actors, Craig has been in a lot of other movies, but he'll likely be most remembered for playing the iconic character. Althoug it wasn't initially a given that he would return for 2021's "No Time to Die," Craig believed he needed to complete his version of Bond's story, which is why "No Time to Die" ends so conclusively.

Many people were initially considered to play James Bond in "Dr. No," but Scottish actor Sean Connery won the role. Dana Broccoli persuaded her husband, producer Albert R. Broccoli, to give Connery a chance, and he won the part having lunch with the couple and fellow producer Harry Saltzman. He didn't even do a screen test before taking on the role that would come to define his career. As the first actor to play Bond on film, Connery established many of the mannerisms that would continue with the character in most subsequent depictions.

The role made Connery a sex symbol, not to mention incredibly famous. Connery played Bond in five films before leaving, but came back for a sixth in 1971. He also returned in 1983 for "Never Say Never Again," an unofficial remake of "Thunderball" that wasn't produced by Eon Productions. Yet the film did remarkably well despite his dozen-year absence from the role and being a remake of a movie he'd previously starred in — although "Octopussy," starring Roger Moore in his sixth Bond outing, was released the same year and did better.

After playing Bond, Connery went on to appear in dozens of movies before ultimately retiring from acting following 2003's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." Despite appearing in many popular films, Connery is inexorably linked to James Bond, and always will be. He's the OG Bond, and while many great actors followed in his footsteps, none have managed to overtake him. Connery died in October 2020 at the age of 90.