Barry Nelson was the first actor to play James Bond on-screen in a one-hour version of Casino Royale made in 1954. Patrick McGoohan was the first actor to be offered the role of Bond in the EON series, but he turned it down. The first to portray 007 in cinema was Sean Connery in Dr No, released in 1962. Connery played the role in four films before resigning. Australian actor George Lazenby was cast in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969.

Sean Connery as James Bond.

However, Lazenby resigned, and Connery returned for the next film, Diamonds Are Forever, in 1971, and later in the non-EON Never Say Never Again in 1983, giving him the longest association with the role in seven films over a 21-year period. Live and Let Die featured Roger Moore’s debut as Bond. Moore appeared in seven consecutive EON films, the longest run in the ‘official’ series.

After Roger Moore’s retirement, the role went to Timothy Dalton, who was contracted in 1986 for three films (with an option for a fourth) as James Bond. Dalton starred in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989), with the third film planned for 1991. However, legal ownership problems of the James Bond franchise delayed release until 1995, by which time Dalton had resigned. Persistent rumours say that Dalton’s third film was going to be The Property of a Lady, but the story, treatment, and draft screenplays were called GoldenEye.

In 1994, Irish actor Pierce Brosnan was hired as James Bond. Brosnan’s debut, GoldenEye (1995), was the franchise’s highest grossing film then; he starred in three more films. Brosnan is the only actor who did not star in a James Bond film titled after an Ian Fleming story and is the second actor not to have been from the United Kingdom, also the only actor who did not resign from the role.

The current actor to play the role is Daniel Craig, hired in 2005. Craig’s debut in Casino Royale was successful both critically and commercially. Craig’s performance was also the first in the series to earn a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. The 22nd Bond film, Quantum of Solace, was released in 2008 and the 23rd is scheduled for 2010.

Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

Before Sean Connery was cast as James Bond, Harry Saltzman favoured Roger Moore for the role, while Cubby Broccoli preferred Cary Grant (but the producer ultimately decided against Grant because he knew that if he succeeded in signing him, it would be a one-year deal and the next film would necessitate a search for another Bond). Before George Lazenby was cast, Timothy Dalton was offered the part, but turned it down as he then felt himself to be too young for it. Pierce Brosnan was initially approached after Roger Moore relinquished the role, but his contract with the TV show ‘Remington Steele’ made him unavailable.

In the course of the official series, American actors have been engaged to play James Bond on two occasions — and have been approached at other times as well. John Gavin was contracted in 1970 to replace George Lazenby, but Connery was well-paid to re-appear in Diamonds Are Forever. James Brolin was contracted in 1983, to replace Roger Moore, and prepared to shoot Octopussy when the producers paid Moore to return. To date, the only American to play James Bond is Barry Nelson, in the 1954 American television adaptation of Casino Royale, though Brolin’s three screen tests were publicly released for the first time as a special feature named “James Brolin: The Man Who Would Be Bond” in the Octopussy: Ultimate Edition DVD.

The actors who have portrayed Bond have varied greatly in age. George Lazenby was 29 when On Her Majesty’s Secret Service premiered, while Roger Moore was 57 when A View to a Kill was released.

See also:

• Bond, James: Actors - Declined
• Bond, James: Actors - Rejected
• Bond, James: Birth debate
• Bond, James: Character
• Bond, James: Cinematic
• Bond, James: Description
• Bond, James: Early years
• Bond, James: Habits
• Bond, James: Other drinking habits
• Bond, James: Personal Traits