The Many Lives of James Bond

by Mark Edlitz

  BARRY NELSON—JAMES BOND

  Barry Nelson played Jimmy Bond in a live televised production of Casino Royale (1954). While Nelson’s 007 is often referred to as “Jimmy Bond” throughout the 50-minute production, he is identified as “James Bond” in the closing credits.

  Nelson on his approach to the part: At the time, no one had heard of James Bond…. I was scratching my head wondering how to play it. I hadn’t read the book or anything like that because it wasn’t well-known.—Cinema Retro, 20041

  Nelson assessing the role: I was very dissatisfied with the part. I thought they wrote it poorly. No charm or character or anything.—Starlog, 19832

  Nelson on being the first to play 007: I always thought Connery was the ideal Bond. What I did was just a curio.—New York Daily News, 19953

  Nelson on his place in Bond history: It’s kind of a novelty for me to be the first one. I’ve always approached James Bond with humility. Sean Connery was 007. I never pretended to be anything more than 001. No one ever stops me on the street and recognizes me as James Bond.—Starlog, 19834

  Nelson on not being recognized: After a short lift [in an elevator], everything stopped, and we were between floors. Nothing was open and there was nowhere for any air to get in. It got very hot…. Everyone started to get a little panicky and someone said, “I wish James Bond were here!” I thought to myself, “If only he knew that he is!”—MI6, October 20045

  BOB HOLNESS—JAMES BOND

  Bob Holness voiced the character of Bond in a live radio adaption of Moonraker (1958) for the South African Broadcast Corporation.

  Bob Holness on playing Bond: Well, that just came up through a hole in the floor. I was doing lots of radio plays at the time but I wanted to do something a bit different, so when James Bond came up, I ventured in and said yes. I had never even heard of him at the time, but it became an amazing part to play and the response from listeners was terrific.—BBC, 20086

  BOB SIMMONS—JAMES BOND

  Stuntman Bob Simmons became the first on-screen 007 when he doubled for Sean Connery in the gun barrel sequence that opens Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Goldfinger (1964).

  Bob Simmons on Bond’s approach to fighting: Bond doesn’t attack. Ever. He counter-attacks. He waits for the enemy to move first, and then moves in with that license to do whatever ingenuity brings to mind.7—Nobody Does It Better, 1987

  Simmons on dressing like Bond in his personal life: As Sean Connery’s double and stunt man I had to be tailored in identical suiting… At the end of the picture, I would be given my suits as part of the perks for the job, and as a result I have a wardrobe at my home in Ealing that covers threes walls of my bedroom, the entire space packed with suits. Expensive, hand tailored Savile Row threads. Forty seven of them.”8—Nobody Does It Better, 1987

  SEAN CONNERY—JAMES BOND

  Sean Connery played James Bond in Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Never Say Never Again (1983). Connery also narrated the Dr. No trailer in character and provided the voice of 007 for the video game From Russia with Love (2005).

  Sean Connery on 007’s transition from the page to the screen: I had to start playing Bond from scratch—not even Ian Fleming knew much about Bond at this time. He has no mother. He has no father. He doesn’t come from anywhere when he became 007. He was born—kerplump—thirty-three years old. [I play Bond as] a complete sensualist, his senses are highly tuned and awake to everything.—Cinema Retro, 20129

  Connery on Fleming’s books: I had only read two of Ian Fleming’s books before filming began, [and] I wasn’t all that in sympathy with the character. In fact, I thought to myself that I probably wouldn’t even like Bond if I met him on the street. I’m referring to the way he was conceived in the novels of course.—Cinema Retro, 201210

  Connery on Bond’s vices: [If] you take Bond in the situations that he is constantly involved with, you see that it is a very hard, high, unusual league that he plays in. Therefore, he is quite right in having all his senses satisfied—be it sex, wine, food or clothes—because the job, and he with it, may terminate at any minute.—Playboy, 196511

  Connery on identifying with Bond: Yes, I do identify with him. I too enjoy drinking, women, eating, the physical pleasure—smells and tastes living by my senses, being alive.—Stuff Nobody Cares About, 201512

  Connery on Bond’s stillness: One of the most important things that one learned in the theater particularly is [being] able to stand still.—Good Company, 196713

  Connery on Bond’s physicality: The essence of it for me was to always make everything look easy, simple. So when there was any movement, it was important. It was a message that something was coming.—The South Bank Show, 200814

  Connery on the tone of the films: I felt that there was a lack of humor [in the Fleming books]…. One of the first things one had to do was to imbue [the cinematic Bond with] a humorous aspect…. Therefore, one can accept the violence if it had a humorous quality.—Good Company, 196715

  Connery on typecasting: I would never deny that Bond made me, and I’ll be everlastingly grateful to him. But that doesn’t make me a Bond slave. I can cut the shackles free any time I want to. And they aren’t made of steel chains any longer, either, but smoothest silk.—Stuff Nobody Cares About, 201516

  Connery on the evolution of the films: As far as gadgets like cars are concerned, fantastic volcanoes and these extraordinary things, [the later films] have developed and developed and gotten away from the personal aspect of the films, which I liked. My favorite one is From Russia with Love. Now, he’s got to walk on the water or do something which is equivalent.—Good Company, 196717

  Sean Connery’s Bond takes flight in Thunderball.

  ILLUSTRATION BY PAT CARBAJAL

  Connery on the Bond phenomenon: It’s a problem because I don’t think any other actor has had such… exposure in the world. It’s like some sort of Frankenstein.—Good Company, 196718

  DAVID NIVEN—JAMES BOND

  David Niven played Sir James Bond in the satire Casino Royale (1967).

  David Niven describing Casino Royale: The picture is a hodgepodge of nonsense, hardly a critic’s film. But I bet Charlie Feldman [the film’s producer] makes money.—The Making of Casino Royale (1967), 201519

  PETER SELLERS—JAMES BOND

  Peter Sellers appeared as the expert baccarat player Evelyn Tremble, who is assigned the code name James Bond, in Casino Royale.

  Sellers on his approach to the role: I wanted to play James Bond the way Tony Hancock would play him. But Ian Fleming’s people would never have allowed it. [Hancock was a British comedian known for playing lovable, self-deluding failures in his character-based comedy.]—Sabotage Times, 201520

  Sellers on Bond’s physicality: Sellers said that Bond should have “panther-like” movement.—The Making of Casino Royale (1967), 201521

  TERENCE COOPER—JAMES BOND

  Terence Cooper played secret agent Cooper, who is also given the code name James Bond in Casino Royale.

  Terence Cooper on playing Bond: I’m the James Bond that fell into oblivion. I’m not as famous as Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, or Timothy Dalton, but I am proud to be among the men who have portrayed Agent 007 through the years.—James Bond-O-Rama, 201722

  GEORGE LAZENBY—JAMES BOND

  George Lazenby played Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).

  George Lazenby on his similarities to Bond: The main similarity I have got with Bond is that I’m a loner. Now, I know a lot of people, but I don’t hang around with anybody.—007 Magazine, 198123

  Lazenby on comparisons to Connery: Sean Connery created James Bond. How could I be better than Sean Connery playing James Bond?… He created the character from his [own] character, his personality. I realized very early that people wanted to see Sean Connery’s version.—Becoming Bond, 201724

  Lazenby on the pressures
of the role: They wanted me to carry on the James Bond image at all times…. It’s a tough umbrella to walk under, that James Bond thing.—Becoming Bond, 201725

  Lazenby on his decision to step away from Bond: I’ve always done what I thought was the right thing. And it’s not always the right thing but I thought it was at the time. When I look back at it, I should have done two [Bond movies] just to prove to people that I wasn’t fired. It was a mistake. But in a way, this is who I am. I don’t know why. It doesn’t make sense to some people [who] say, he’s mad, he’s crazy. But I lived my life the way I wanted to.—Becoming Bond, 201726

  Lazenby on whether he has any regrets about being a one-time Bond: No. First of all, I wasn’t an actor. I had no desire to be an actor. I just took this on as a challenge and quite liked it. I can take it or leave it. I’m glad I didn’t do another Bond, because I would’ve been totally trapped in the film industry, and I wouldn’t have had the life I had. I wouldn’t have had the kids I had. I’m quite satisfied with the way my life has turned out so far.—USA Today, 201727

  ROGER MOORE—JAMES BOND

  Roger Moore played Bond in seven movies: 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), and A View to a Kill (1985). In the teaser trailer for The Spy Who Loved Me, the actor appeared in character to introduce Bond’s latest adventure to moviegoers. In 1964, Moore first played 007 in a seven-minute skit on the sketch comedy series Mainly Millicent (1964-1966).

  Roger Moore on his alleged rivalry with Sean Connery: There was no animosity between Sean and me. We didn’t react to the press speculation that we had become competitors in the part. In fact, we often had dinner together and compared notes about how much we’d each shot and how our respective producers were trying to kill us with all the action scenes they expected us to do.—My Word Is My Bond, 200828

  Moore on violence in the Bond movies: Basically, we have very little brutality in Bond. As Cubby once said, we are sadism for the family. Most of the violence is mechanical, Disney violence.—The 007 Dossier, 201729

  Moore on his own similarities to Bond: Well, he looks like the fellow who plays James Bond except he does not wear a dinner jacket to breakfast.—007 Magazine, 198530

  Moore on what Bond film, other than his own, that he would have liked to make: I thought Diamonds Are Forever was a lovely script.—GQ, May 201731

  Moore on his self-effacing style: It’s easier to joke about yourself than to go on about having to work hard as an actor. Bullshit. Get up, say the line, don’t bump into the furniture.—Short List, 201732

  TIMOTHY DALTON—JAMES BOND

  Timothy Dalton played Bond in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989).

  Dalton describing what it’s like to play Bond: No one, no matter how well someone can communicate, can tell you—and I certainly can’t really communicate accurately—what it is like to be the actor playing James Bond. The only actors who can are the other actors who’ve played the part. It’s kind of astonishing, really. You are in kind of a bubble. It’s real, it’s valuable, it’s exciting, and it can give great pleasure…. But it’s somehow outside the normal course of what we all share in.—AV Club, 201433

  Dalton on his approach to Bond: Bond is a flawed hero. How does he deal with himself morally when he’s on the side of right and his job is to kill people? He’s put in the position where he could call someone a friend one day and be asked to kill him the next…. I wanted to capture that spirit of the man—the essence of Fleming’s work.—For Your Eyes Only: Behind the Scenes of the James Bond Films, 200234

  Dalton on deliberately underplaying Bond’s famous introduction: You don’t suddenly stop acting, turn to face front and go, quotes, “Bond [James Bond]….” If I’d stood outside the movie to do it, we’d have been back in another kind of film.”—Bondage, 198735

  Dalton on whether Bond is a role model: Bond is not a paragon of virtue; he’s a man riddled with vices and weaknesses as well as strength. But that is the nature of the man, and the nature of the world he lives in, but I don’t think he should be a role model.—007 Magazine, 198936

  Dalton on the other Bonds: Roger Moore was marvelous at what he did, and his films were successful, so you can’t say a word against him. But Connery was shocking. And his movies were shocking. You had never seen women in bikinis in films in those days, and heroes did not shoot unarmed people.—Entertainment Weekly, 201037

  Dalton on Bond’s character: He can be ruthless and determined, yet we’re constantly shown what a serious, intelligent, thinking, feeling human being he is. He’s a man of principle too, almost an idealist, but one who sees that he’s living in a world without principle, in which ideals are cheaply bought and sold. He’s a man who wants human contact; the need for love seems to overflow from him. Yet he can’t afford emotional involvement, he can’t fall in love or marry or have children, because that would prevent him functioning in a world where the possibility of his death is ever-present.—New York Times, 198738

  Dalton on Bond’s sense of duty: Above all, I realized that he hates to kill. He recalls that when he was young, he thought it was all in the cause of righteousness, but now he perceives his assassinations as dirty murders. He kills himself by killing someone who’s himself on the other side. Yet he carries on, always regretting it, always trying to shut it out of his mind. Altogether, it seemed to me that Bond was a complex man, with many more facets than I’d realized. Not a shining knight, but someone deeply unhappy with his job, suffering from confusion, ennui, moral revulsion and what Fleming calls accidie.—New York Times, 198739

  Dalton on leaving the role: When I saw those posters of Pierce standing there, I suddenly thought to myself, “Jesus, I don’t have to stand there with a gun to the side of my head anymore!” I suddenly found the most tremendous sense of liberation, and I started feeling more like myself than I’d ever felt in years! I suddenly felt free.—For Your Eyes Only: Behind the Scenes of the James Bond Films, 200240

  Timothy Dalton as James Bond.

  ILLUSTRATION BY PAT CARBAJAL

  Dalton on his tenure as Bond: What an experience, indeed. A fantastic experience.—AV Club, 201441

  PIERCE BROSNAN—JAMES BOND

  Pierce Brosnan played a suave Bond in GoldenEye ( 1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002). Brosnan also played 007 in the video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2003) and in a 1997 Visa commercial.

  Pierce Brosnan on how Bond fit into his career goals: I grew up with Connery as James Bond, and contrary to what you might have read, I never dreamt of, or wanted to play, this character, until ’86 when they offered me the role the first time.—Huffington Post, 201542

  Brosnan on losing the chance to play Bond in The Living Daylights because of his contractual obligations to Remington Steele: “It was a knife in the heart. And not just for me, for my family, because we moved our children back to England and got fucked over by very short people. You get over it. It’s just being an actor. Shit happens like that.”—Huffington Post, 201543

  Brosnan on other Bond actors: There’s only one man that you want to take the belt from, and that’s Connery. So you go into the ring to win. It’s a challenge. Connery had a sadistic side to him…. I don’t know. I live with more heart.—Huffington Post, 201544

  Brosnan on his characterization: I felt I was caught in a time warp between Roger and Sean. It was a very hard one to grasp the meaning of, for me. The violence was never real, the brute force of the man was never palpable…. It was quite tame, and the characterization didn’t have a follow-through of reality, it was surface. But then that might have had to do with my own insecurities in playing him as well.—Telegraph, 201445

  Brosnan on no longer playing Bond: I’ll always be known as Bond, but now I don’t have the responsibility of being an ambassador for a small country ruled by a character.—Playboy, 200546

>   TOBY STEPHENS—JAMES BOND

  Toby Stephens played Bond in a series of radio dramas for the BBC, including Dr. No (2008), Goldfinger (2010), From Russia with Love (2012), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (2014), Diamonds Are Forever (2015), Thunderball (2016), Moonraker (2018), and Live and Let Die (2019).

  Toby Stephens on Bond: As a kid, I used to wish I was 007 because I wanted to be that cool and debonair. And that kind of lone-wolf figure who’s completely self-sufficient. That appeals to the male psyche, especially when you’re young and reliant on other people’s affection.—Sunday Telegraph, 200247

  DANIEL CRAIG—JAMES BOND

  Daniel Craig played 007 in five movies, Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and in the twenty-fifth Eon production (2020). He also provided the voice and likeness for Bond in the video games 007: Quantum of Solace (2008), James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010), and GoldenEye 007 (2010). Craig also played 007 in the Heineken commercials “Crack the Case” (2012) and “The Chase” (2015), and in Happy & Glorious, the short film that opened the 2012 Olympics and featured Bond and Queen Elizabeth II.

  Daniel Craig on preparing for the role: I watched every single Bond movie three or four times, taking in everything I could about how the character had been portrayed in the past—then threw all that away once I started doing the role.—Entertainment Weekly, 200648

  Craig on Bond: I wanted to play around with the flaws in his character. It was much more interesting than having him be perfect and polished and so suave as to be flawless. I got most of my inspiration from Ian Fleming’s books. I reread them. In the books Bond is suave and sophisticated, yes—Sean Connery really nailed it—but there’s also a flawed aspect of Bond. In the novels, he is quite a depressive character. When he’s not working, he’s at his worst.—Playboy, 200849