One man. One martini – shaken, not stirred. Many faces. James Bond has been on the silver screen since the debut of Dr. No in 1962. The movies are screen adaptations of author Ian Fleming’s work.  Over the years, the film franchise has seen many actors play the titular role of the series. Although the character remains the same at his core, every man to play the role has had their own touch on it. Currently, the mantle falls on actor Daniel Craig; his latest, and perhaps his last movie with the franchise, Spectre, comes out November 6th of this year. With the torch to be passed yet again, it seems fitting that we take a look at the many faces of the MI6 agent with a license to kill.

Sean Connery

Scottish actor Sir Thomas Sean Connery was the first man to play the role of James Bond in Dr. No.  Connery handled the role with the suave and grace (perhaps due to his time as a dancer and model)  that we know the character to have today. His movies were breezy, bubbly and stylish, and were often colored with a lighter tone than the dark, gritty spy movies of the present.  Connery holds a special place in my heart, as Goldfinger was the first Bond movie I’d seen, and he never shines more than when he seeks to stop billionaire and smuggler Auric Goldfinger from raiding Fort Knox.

Movies: Dr. No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

George Lazenby

    George Lazenby took up the role after Connery, and is the one-hit wonder of Bond actors, having only starred in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The movie and the actor’s performance are pretty average overall, but Lazenby does deserve credit for managing to uphold the role so well after Connery’s departure. I can imagine that it must have been a tough act to follow. Lazenby was an Australian actor and model ,who director Cubby Broccoli had met at a hotel barbershop.

Movie: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Roger Moore

    Then came the era of Moore. The 70s in Bond movies belonged to Sir Roger Moore, who acted in six movies – of varying quality – during this time period. Bond movies with Moore often touched on flights of fancy, such as the oddity Moonraker, a brush with the science fiction genre (in which 007 must investigate the hijacking of an American space shuttle)  that now seems more of a rider on the coattails of the success of Star Wars than it does a Bond flick.  Many of the movies during this time period touched on the absurd and cheesy, incorporating elements such as lasers and voodoo, but Moore’s wit and humor brought a certain charm that makes the movies loveable in a campy sort of way.

Movies: Live and Let Die (1973), The Man With the Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker(1981), Octopussy (1983), and A View to Kill (1985)

Timothy Dalton

    When the era of Moore came to an end, Welsh actor Timothy Dalton briefly took the lead for two movies. Foreshadowing of things to come with the 2006 reboot under Craig, Dalton was an introspective, ruthless Bond – much like the characters of the Fleming novels. He would portray the inner conflict of a cold-blooded killer more than the actors before him.

Movies: The Living Daylights (1987), License to Kill (1989)

Pierce Brosnan

    Pierce Brosnan was the first actor to play Bond after the end of the Cold War, and the last actor to play the role in the 20th Century. Goldeneye, his best movie, would also be the last movie directed by Cubby Broccoli. His movies after that are average at best, and absolutely absurd at the worst – a fascination with everything cutting-edge, from ridiculous gadgets to bad CGI, and ridiculous plots truly doom most of Brosnan’s Bond movies. While his performances aren’t particularly bad, they’re not loud enough to not get lost in the pomp and bravado of 90s 007 films.

Movies: Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002)

Daniel Craig

The current James Bond is actor Daniel Craig – an English actor who has brought a gritty, realistic edge to the movies. Craig’s movies thus far have been reminiscent of film noir, and are very typical of current action adventure movies. However,  Craig separates the series from most action movies by blending style with those more realistic elements. Casino Royale in particular is where Craig shines the most – a romp of a film that blends all of the classic Bond elements with a new touch for the century, and made truly memorable due to the fact that Craig does his own stunts. His movies have received mostly positive reviews, with the exception of Quantum of Solace. It will be interesting to see what he has in store for Spectre

Movies: Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015)