James Bond Actors: Then and Now

The 007 franchise has been going for an incredible 50 years now making it the longest running - and by proxy - the most successful film franchise ever. Production is underway on ‘SPECTRE’ the 24th film in the series, which the filmmakers hope will emulate the success of its predecessor ‘Skyfall’, the most profitable film in the series yet.

Despite all these accolades, did you know that more men have walked on the moon than have played James Bond on film? In honour of those six actors who’ve brought Bond to life on the silver screen, we take a look back to see how their careers fared post-007 and beyond.

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Sean Connery (1962-1971)
Films: 6 - ‘Dr. No’, ‘From Russia With Love’, ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Thunderball’, ‘You Only Live Twice’, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ (plus the unofficial ‘Never Say Never Again’)

Scotsman Sean Connery was Eon’s third choice to play Bond, landing the iconic role after Patrick McGoohan and Richard Johnson turned it down. He went on to make six official Bond films and 1983’s unofficial ‘Never Say Never Again’, before he hung up his Walther PPK for good.

He’s arguably the most popular Bond actor and the one with the most successful career outside of the franchise, winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1988 for ‘The Untouchables’. He continued to appear in a number of successful action films in his later life including ‘Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade’, ‘The Hunt For The Red October’, and ‘The Rock’.

Connery famously turned down the role of Gandalf in the ‘Lord Of The Rings’ films which could have earned him a fortune, and he’s now retired from acting since his last live action performance in 2003’s execrable ‘The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen’. The less said about the miserable animated film ‘Sir Billi’ which he lent his voice to, the better.

George Lazenby (1969)
Films: 1 – ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’

After Connery quit Bond on the first day of shooting ‘You Only Live Twice’, the series producers lined up Roger Moore to take over in ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’, which would shoot next in Cambodia. However, political unrest in the location put paid to those plans and Moore ruled himself out by signing up for another series of ‘The Saint’.

Aussie actor George Lazenby blagged the role of Bond after a chance meeting with producer Albert R. Broccoli in a barbershop, who offered him a Bond audition. Lazenby punched a stuntman while testing for the part, impressing the producers who wanted someone with real aggression.

He quit the lucrative role before the film - considered by many to be one of the best in the series - was even released after clashing with the filmmakers. His acting career never really took off after ‘OHMSS’ and in 1978 he placed an ad in trade paper Variety offering to work for free.

He cropped up in a number of entries in the softcore porn ‘Emmanuelle’ series in the 1990s and he was recently announced as a cast member of low budget British horror ‘Dracula: Killer on the Catwalk’.

Sir Roger Moore (1973-1985)
Films: 7 – ‘Live and Let Die’, ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’, ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’, ‘Moonraker’, ‘For Your Eyes Only’, ‘Octopussy’, ‘A View To A Kill’

Roger finally got his chance to play 007 in 1973, only agreeing the take on the role with assurances that Sean Connery wouldn’t be tempted out of retirement again like he was for ‘Diamonds Are Forever’.

He’s the most prolific (and oldest) actor in the part, playing Bond 7 times, before he retired in 1985 aged 58. His arch take on the part was far removed from Ian Fleming’s cold-hearted killer in the books, but his eyebrow raising quips won him legions of fans.

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His Bond films earned over $1bn at the global box office, but after ‘A View To A Kill’ he decided to call it day as Bond, admitting in 2007 that he “was only about four hundred years too old for the part” by then.

It would be 5 years before Moore acted again after ‘A View To A Kill’, with the bulk of best performances coming before and during his 007 tenure. He now lives in Switzerland where he dedicates his life to writing and raising awareness as an ambassador for charity UNICEF.

Timothy Dalton (1987-1989)
Films: 2 – ‘The Living Daylights’, ‘Licence To Kill’

The Welshman’s reign as Bond is unfairly viewed as being somewhat unsuccessful. His portrayal of Bond as a cold-hearted killer was deemed “humourless” after Roger Moore’s take, but in recent years his two brutal entries have been reappraised as being way ahead of their time, being much closer in tone to Daniel Craig’s canon of films.

He was originally considered for Bond in 1968’s ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ but was dismissed as being too young for the part. He eventually agreed to play the secret agent in 1986 after Pierce Brosnan was unable to extract himself from his ‘Remington Steele’ commitments.

His first outing ‘The Living Daylights’ was a huge commercial hit, but ‘Licence To Kill’ (the first Bond film with a 15 rating) struggled at the summer box office going up against ‘Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade’, ‘Batman’, and ‘Lethal Weapon 2’.

Post Bond, Dalton has continued to be a prolific stage and screen actor, more recently appearing in ‘Toy Story 3’, ‘Hot Fuzz’, and gothic TV series ‘Penny Dreadful’.

Pierce Brosnan (1995-2002)
Films: 4 – ‘GoldenEye’, ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, ‘The World Is Not Enough’, ‘Die Another Day’

The Bond franchise languished after ‘Licence To Kill’, with an ongoing legal case delaying Dalton’s third film beyond his contract period. Six years would pass before the release of ‘GoldenEye’ in 1995, when Pierce Brosnan was finally able to assume to 007 mantle.

Brosnan’s tenure as Bond was hailed at the time as a new dawn for the franchise after a strong start with ‘GoldenEye’. However, his films became increasingly more far-fetched and lighthearted, culminating in the much-derided ‘Die Another Day’ that featured an invisible car and a cameo from Madonna.

The Irishman expressed an interest in making a fifth film, but negotiations fell apart leaving the door open for Daniel Craig to take over.

Brosnan’s post-Bond career has seen its fair share of hits (‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, ‘The Matador’) and misses (‘A Long Way Down’, ‘The Love Punch’) but he’ll probably be best remembered for his hilariously tone deaf performance in ‘Mamma Mia!’.

Daniel Craig (2006-Present)
Films: 4 – ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Quantum Of Solace’, ‘Skyfall’, ‘SPECTRE’

Daniel Craig was announced as the next Bond after arriving at the press conference via a Royal Navy speedboat, and was derided in the press for wearing a lifejacket. Have they not heard of healthy and safety?

Initial concerns over his appointment, which said he was “too blond” or “too rugged” to play the suave, dark, and handsome Bond were soon dismissed with the release of his first film ‘Casino Royale’. The soft reboot of the franchise saw Bond ditching the gags and gadgets in favour of brutal physicality to distance it from the camp humour of the ‘Austin Powers’ films, and to bring it into line with the popular ‘Bourne’ franchise.

Craig has made three films now with varying degrees of success. ‘Quantum Of Solace’ suffered at the hands of the Hollywood writers strike, but ‘Skyfall’ restored the series’ reputation becoming the highest grossing Bond film ever, so expectation levels are sky high for the forthcoming ‘SPECTRE’.

His acting career outside of Bond has seen him appear in a few high profile flops including ‘Cowboys & Aliens’, ‘The Golden Compass’, and David Fincher’s underperforming ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ remake, but he continues to be one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood.

'SPECTRE' is coming to cinemas in November.

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Image credits: EON/MGM/Sony/Press Association