James Bond is one of the coolest characters in all of fiction. Since 1962, James Bond has delighted audiences with his cool cars, slick action, and charming lines. While six different actors have portrayed James Bond on screen, each actor has tried to capture those same core elements that make James Bond so cool, sophisticated, and charming. That being said, there are notable differences in portrayals of James Bond on screen, with the clearest example being Roger Moore’s portrayal of the character.
Roger Moore played the role far more comedically than the other actors, with Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig playing the role far more seriously in comparison. Consequently, while there are six different portrayals of Bond, they each highlight different elements of the character at the expense of other character elements. This article will rank the Bond portrayals based on intelligence.
George Lazenby
George Lazenby had very large shoes to fill when he took over the role from Sean Connery to play James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Not only was Lazenby replacing Sean Connery in the role, but he was also a model from New Zealand with very little acting experience prior to taking the role. His New Zealand origin was also one of the reasons as to why Lazenby was dubbed over in the movie, giving him a more ‘Bond-like’ accent than his natural voice.
While Lazenby’s only film wasn’t loved at the time, it has gone on to gain a good reputation lately among Bond fans, with many suggesting that it is one of the best. The reason why Lazenby’s Bond ranks so low on this list is largely due to the fact that he didn’t have much time to flex his smarts on film. As a result, he must take the last place due to the fact that he was only given one film in which he could bring his version of the character to life.
Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton, like Lazenby, didn’t really get too long to bring his version of James Bond to life. While Lazenby only got one film, Dalton only got two films: License to Kill and The Living Daylights. Taking over the James Bond mantle from Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton brought the James Bond character back to a more serious tone, with Dalton playing the character more closely to the literary version of the character.
A return to a more serious tone allowed us to see Bond as a more cerebral character, with Bond hatching plans to smuggle General Koskov across an international border in the Living Daylights, and in Licence to Kill, the character was able to successfully go undercover as one of Sanchez’ trusted men.
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan was the fifth actor to take over the role of James Bond in Goldeneye, picking up from Timothy Dalton after a long period of limbo for the James Bond franchise. If Dalton played the character seriously and Moore played the character for comedy, Brosnan placed himself firmly in between the prior two portrayals. That being said, Brosnan’s Bond was far more action hero than any of the other Bonds.
Due to the fact that this Bond was far more action-orientated than the prior incarnations of the character, there was less room in the plot for Bond to outwit the villain; rather, Bond’s purpose during Brosnan’s time with the character was to simply defeat the villain, usually through an explosive action set piece.
Roger Moore
For many, Roger Moore is James Bond because of how long the British actor portrayed the character. Additionally, Moore had a challenging start due to the fact that he was replacing Sean Connery in the role, a challenge which is made even starker when one remembers how Lazenby was only in the role for one movie before producers brought back Connery. Rather than trying to replicate Sean Connery’s portrayal of Bond, Moore opted to bring a more humorous side to the character.
Due to this humorous side, it is sometimes difficult to take Roger Moore’s Bond seriously, but in certain movies, such as Live and Let Die or the Man With the Golden Gun, we can truly see how brilliant Moore’s Bond is. One of the most intelligent moves by Moore’s Bond was the time he outwitted Francisco Scaramanga, defeating him as a result of it.
Sean Connery
For many, Sean Connery is the best James Bond. Connery helped to start the franchise, kickstarting what would become one of the most successful and loved movie franchises of all time. During Connery’s run as Bond, we come to associate the Bond character with charm, humor, and intense action; all of which are character traits that would become synonymous with the franchise and the character as a whole.
Due to the fact that the earlier Connery films were heavily based around the Fleming novels, we see more of Bond’s detective abilities in Connery’s run as 007. For instance, we see Connery investigating Dr. No’s island and we see Connery’s Bond outwitting Auric Goldfinger. While Connery’s Bond may be thought of as more alcoholic than most, he certainly has a keen brain that we should acknowledge.
Daniel Craig
The most recent actor to play the role of James Bond, Daniel Craig also had a rough time while starting out as the famed British agent. The British tabloids, effectively, dismissed Craig before they’d even seen him in the role, calling him ‘James Blonde’ and mocking the character for driving a Ford in Casino Royale. However, Daniel Craig would go on to become one of the most popular Bonds of all time, with some even suggesting that he is better than Sean Connery in the role.
While Craig’s Bond will always be remembered as a brawler due to how much fighting he does in the movies, it is important to not forget how often Bond uses his mind in the movies and learns from his past mistakes. This is seen most clearly in Casino Royale, where Bond, after his defeat in the poker tournament, learns from his mistakes and returns to defeat Le Chiffre.
