James Bond ranked: Who is the greatest 007 of all time?

24 September 2021

As Daniel Craig prepares to take his final bow as James Bond in No Time To Die, the age old question will be asked once more - which actor gave the best performance as the super spy? 007 aficionados Mark Gatiss and Matthew Sweet don their dinner jackets and sip on a well-shaken cocktail to debate exactly this cinematic conundrum for BBC Four's Premium Bond.

Sir Sean Connery appeared as Bond seven times:

• Dr. No (1962)
• From Russia with Love (1963)
• Goldfinger (1964)
• Thunderball (1965)
• You Only Live Twice (1967)
• Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
• Never Say Never again (1981 - an "unofficial" non-Eon production)

Watch below as Mark and Matthew delve deep into the performances of the Edinburgh born actor to work out what made his portrayal of Bond so memorable. "He looks like lots of work has been done on him, somehow... In a way, he's a sort of Frankenstein monster, isn't he?"

George Lazenby's one and only outing as Bond came in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

But his brief tenure as 007 doesn't mean the film - or Lazenby himself - are overlooked by our Bond experts Mark and Matthew.

"There's something just so special about this film, I think. He's got all of Connery's machismo, all of his swagger, he looks amazing."

Moore equals Connery for appearances, starring as Bond seven times through the 1970s and 80s:

• 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)

But as Mark and Matthew discuss below, the two actors came at the role in very different ways. "We should talk about Roger Moore's approach, because he always said: "I approached it through the door marked 'Comedy'".

Timothy Dalton made two appearances as James Bond:

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

After the Roger Moore years, this was a much less glib take on Ian Fleming's character. "The whole idea behind Dalton's Bond is to sort of humanise him again, take him back from being a sort of superhero."

After a six year gap, Bond returned with a new actor replacing Dalton - Pierce Brosnan. He would go on to play the role four times:

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

While Matthew and Mark aren't sure of the quality of the films, they do rate the man playing the lead role. "They don't bear up to repeated watching like some of the others do, and he, I think, remains the best thing in them."

Daniel Craig is hanging up his gun after five appearances as Bond:

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

He might have been a surprise choice for some but was an inspired pick according to Mark and Matthew. "Daniel Craig, was on the internet, at least a very controversial choice. But [producer] Barbara Broccoli just saw him for who he is, which is a very fine actor and someone who would give it real sort of balls again."