Of course, this article is in no shape or form important. We all have completely different opinions, and they seem often tainted by whoever it was we grew up with. I would be a fool to think this has not colored my view in some way. And yet, I feel an urge to share my list of Bonds.

James+Bond+PB1.jpg — Worst

**Pierce Brosnan, Irishman**
**1995 - 2002**

Starring in four movies over seven years. Started the role at 42 years old, and retired at 49 years young.

GoldenEye (1995) - Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - The World Is Not Enough (1999) - Die Another Day (2002)

He is a great charismatic actor, but I find his Bond comes off a little bland and not really good or bad or especially intriguing. I'm not sure why he is the worst (and in a list of greats, being worst is not bad). He has the looks and can act. We may partly blame the movies or the weather. In the end, he proved not to be the personification we will remember above the rest.

If I can say anything, he is the generic choice that checks all the boxes, and perhaps this is why it never quite worked.

Brosnan’s best Bond movie: "GoldenEye” (1995).
Brosnan’s worst Bond movie: "Die Another Day” (2002).

James+Bond+DC1.jpg — SECOND WORST

**Daniel Craig, Englishman**
**2006 - 2021**

15 years, in five movies. Longest consecutively running Bond of them all. Got the reins at 38 years old, and let them go at 53.

Casino Royale (2006) - Quantum of Solace (2008) - Skyfall (2012) - Spectre (2015) - No Time to Die (2021)

Daniel Craig gives us a very solid action hero who can cry, but apart from that, I do not see that “je ne sais quoi” that the Bond character demands. He surely radiates badassness like few, but he is just not enough in the whole package of what and who James Bond is.

He seems quite unhappy playing the part, and this shows in his performance. It works against the character of Bond… or at least, how I see Bond. Bond loves being Bond, and Craig did not get that memo.

Craig’s best Bond movie: "Casino Royale” (2006).
Craig’s worst Bond movie: "Spectre” (2015).

James+Bond+GL.jpg — FOURTH BEST

**George Lazenby, Australian**
**1969 -1969**

Accepted just one movie because he thought the franchise was going nowhere. He replaced Sean Connery and was replaced by Sean Connery. At only 31 years old (or 29 when they started filming it), he comes in as the youngest to ever play him on the silver screen.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Famous for not being famous and not being an actor or very good at predicting cinema trends. George Lazenby and his Bond has a unique balance of the crude Connery Bond and the friendlier Roger Moore Bond, and he does it surprisingly well. A shame we never got to see where he would have taken the character, but what we saw worked.

Lazenby’s best Bond movie is also his worst, but it is great: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969).

James+Bond+TD1.jpg — THIRD BEST

**Timothy Dalton, Welshman**
**1985 -1987**

Just two movies, and in a time where cinema was flooded by all sorts of fantastic action movies. Or began to be flooded, because it would seem it never ended. Started at 41 years old, and stopped at just 43.

The Living Daylights (1987) - Licence to Kill (1989)

To most non-fans, Timothy Dalton is often ignored. Not fair, as his Bond, at the very least, holds a strong candle to the two original greats. He brings James Bond well into the eighties and grounds the character in a way we had never seen. Both movies rock, and if anything, he was perhaps a tad too real, if something like that can even be a criticism.

Dalton’s best Bond movie: "The Living Daylights” (1987).
Dalton’s worst Bond movie: "Licence to Kill" (1989).

James+Bond+SC.jpg — THE BEST

**Sean Connery, Scotsman**
**1962 -1967, 1971 & 1983.**

Portrayed the character over a combined period of 21 years in six official movies and one unofficial. His official era lasted only five years, but he came back in 1971 and again in 1983, this time to star in "Never Say Never Again" (1983) - an unofficial James Bond movie. That was the same year Roger Moore showed us the official “Octopussy” (1983) - in case you wonder, Roger’s won the box office.

Dr. No (1962) - From Russia with Love (1963) - Goldfinger (1964) - Thunderball (1965) - You Only Live Twice (1967) - break - Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - break - Never Say Never Again (1983, unofficial)

Sean Connery is everybody's favorite, and mine, too. He introduced the character to the world as just a 31-year-old kid; few could have done it better. He ended at the age of 53 (however, compared to Daniel Craig, who ended at the same age, he certainly didn't look it, and not in a good way). The official end was when he was 37 years old and then again at 41 years old after Lazenby's one-off try.

He had the fortune of being in some of the best Bond movies (and stories) ever (and two of the worst). I can say nothing more that has not already been said a million times. He was great.

Connery’s Best Bond Movie: "From Russia With Love" (1963).
Connery’s Worst Bond Movie: "Diamonds Are Forever” (1971), a tie with “Never Say Never Again” (1983).

James Bond RM.jpg — THE VERY BEST

**Roger Moore, Englishman**
**1973 -1985**

007 movies on his belt, moore than any other, over a period of 12 years. Got the part at 46 years old, the oldest of any new Bond, and left the part at 58 years old, the oldest of any Bond.

Live and Let Die (1973) - The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Moonraker (1979) - For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Octopussy (1983) - A View to a Kill (1985)

Think what you will about the “Live and Let Die” (1973) movie, but the Bond we first meet here is, in my opinion, the real Bond. Never has he been better portrayed with such class, finesse, ruthless determinism, and mysticism. I believe we see the same Bond in “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974), and, to a degree, also in “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977) and “A View To A Kill” (1985). He simply does it to perfection.

For whatever reason, I see more debt and mystical balance in the Bond that Roger Moore introduces to us. Besides Connery’s early Bonds, no other Bonds come close.

Roger is often cited as the more lighthearted version, and this is true if we focus on but a few of his later installments. But that too can be said of Connery, yet he is mostly remembered by his first movies. If we look at all of his movies, Roger Moore is the very best, consistently, and plays the character in a very tough and cynical way — the way he is meant to be portrayed.

Moore’s Best Bond Movie: "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977).
Moore’s Worst Bond Movie: "Octopussy" (1983).

The true spirit of Bond, with his almost magical presence and serene allurement, was never better than Connery and Moore. I have watched them all chronologically over a short period of time, and from my fresh perspective, the Bond I saw in "Live and Let Die" blew me away — and I wasn't expecting it.

BOND TRIVIA

Number of official Bond movies: Roger Moore (7 movies) - Sean Connery (6 movies) - Daniel Craig (5 movies) - Pierce Brosnan (4 movies) - Timothy Dalton (2 movies) - George Lazenby (1 movie).

Period of playing the character: Daniel Craig (15 years) - Roger Moore (12 years) - Pierce Brosnan (7 years) - Sean Connery (5+1 years) - Timothy Dalton (3 years) - George Lazenby (1 year).

Beginning Age - young to old: George Lazenby (29 when filming began) - Sean Connery (31) - Daniel Craig (38) - Timothy Dalton (41) Pierce Brosnan (42) - Roger Moore (46).

Ending Age - old to young: Roger Moore (58) - Daniel Craig (53) - Pierce Brosnan (49) - Timothy Dalton (43) - Sean Connery (37 and then 41) - George Lazenby (31).

Most number of kills in a movie: Daniel Craig (235, Spectre) - Roger Moore (64, Octopussy) - Pierce Brosnan (34, Goldeneye) - Sean Connery (21, You Only Live Twice) - Timothy Dalton (10, in either of his movies) - George Lazenby (6, On Her Majesty's Secret Service).

Least number of kills in a movie: Roger Moore (1, The Man with the Golden Gun) - George Lazenby (6, On Her Majesty's Secret Service) - Sean Connery (7, Dr. No) - Timothy Dalton (10, in either of his movies) - Daniel Craig (11, Casino Royale) - Pierce Brosnan (21, The World is Not Enough).

Most number of bedded women in a movie: Sean Connery (4, From Russia With Love) - Roger Moore (4, A View To A Kill) - George Lazenby (3, On Her Majesty's Secret Service) - Pierce Brosnan (3, Tomorrow Never Dies) - Timothy Dalton (2, The Living Daylights) - Daniel Craig (2, Skyfall).

Number of “shaken not stirred” lines spoken by a Bond: Sean Connery (1 time, Goldfinger) - George Lazenby (never) - Roger Moore (never) - Timothy Dalton (2 times, one in each movie) - Pierce Brosnan (2 times, GoldenEye & The World in Not Enough) - Daniel Craig (1 time, Skyfall).