Bond actors- worst post Bond career

2

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  • edited May 2018 Posts: 12,837
    Connery's obviously the gold standard with this, don't think anyone will claim that he's the worst.

    Brosnan's done alright. Lot of B movies lately but he's had some big films, Ghost Writer, Mama Mia. And I think he's done his best work as an actor post Bond (The Madator, The Foreigner). That western TV show he's in is still going as well (need to watch that at some point).

    Dalton's done okay too. Nothing massive but he had that TV show recently and he's been in a couple of big films since Bond. He's brilliant in Hot Fuzz. There were rumours of him being Alfred in the Ben Affleck Batman films and I think it's a shame that didn't pan out because he deserves more exposure. I might have actually watched them if he was in them.

    Worst is either Moore or Lazenby. I haven't seen much of either of the stuff they've done outside of Bond so can't really judge, I'm basing this purely off how little else they've done since.

    Craig's a frustrating one for me because while he isn't my favourite Bond (not even top three some days), I think he's genuinely the best actual actor out of the lot of them, but he just seems to keep picking crap stuff to be in (judging solely on his films, I know he does theatre and is meant to be very good). He's so good in Our Friends In The North and Layer Cake. I hope after Bond 25 he does more film/TV work and reminds everyone of what a good actor he is.
  • Posts: 3,333
    I agree with what you say @thelivingroyale.

    Apologises to everyone for somehow turning this thread into their movies that they made in tandem with their Bond pictures when it's clearly about "post Bond" and not about the merits of North Sea Hijack or whether it's called Esther, Ruth and Jennifer or ffolkes.
  • edited December 2018 Posts: 1,637
    "Lazenby was about to make a film with Bruce Lee, but life intervened"

    More like Chow had Lee killed due to Lee leaving for Hwood or offers from Shaw Bros......Chow would rather kill his golden goose than let others profit on Lee , he wanted Lee for himself (yes , he did sign Jackie but that was around 7 yrs after Lee died and 1973-80 looked grim for Golden Harvest w/o a major star)
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,567
    bondsum wrote: »
    I agree with what you say @thelivingroyale.

    Apologises to everyone for somehow turning this thread into their movies that they made in tandem with their Bond pictures when it's clearly about "post Bond" and not about the merits of North Sea Hijack or whether it's called Esther, Ruth and Jennifer or ffolkes.

    I did wonder about this. The thread was starting to incorporate pre-Bond years, and Bond tenure years as well.
  • edited December 2018 Posts: 613
    NicNac wrote: »
    I did wonder about this. The thread was starting to incorporate pre-Bond years, and Bond tenure years as well.

    Only because @bondsum was trashing films that were made during Moore's tenure as Bond. I stepped in to defend a few of those projects (and Moore's performances in them).

    But yes, post-Bond, Moore didn't really do any films that are worth a look.

  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 538
    Do you think the reason of the Bond actors falling off after Bond has to do with the Bond role and being typecasted.

    Or would they have fallen off anyway? (Most actors kinda do; it's not easy to have a long career in acting)

    A downside that I see is that being Bond could mean spending 10-15 years of your career (in your prime) on the same role. Whereas most other actors, they make 1 hit film and then they have lots of other doors open up for them.
  • Leon12Leon12 England
    Posts: 16
    Roger Moore was 58 when he stopped playing Bond so his career was inevitably going to fall off, and without wishing to be rude, he wasn't the greatest of actors so the type of roles he could play at that age were always going to be limited, I don't think he was ever going to play Macbeth on Broadway.
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    edited November 2021 Posts: 538
    Connery > Brosnan > Dalton > Moore > Lazenby

    I agree with this list.

    I expect Craig's post-career to be in the upper half of this list.

    Even if Craig loses some of his looks and muscles as he enters his late 50's and 60's, he still has the acting ability to play a variety of roles.

    And with how critically acclaimed and commercially successful Craig's Bond performances were, he will get offers.
  • Posts: 207
    1. Sean Connery
    2. Pierce Brosnan
    3. Timothy Dalton
    4. Roger Moore
    5. George Lazenby
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 538
    Regarding Dalton's post-Bond career. It's about what you could expect.

    Classic literature movies and plays are a niche audience. He was never really focused on being a big-budget movie star.

    His Bond tenure not being very successful commercially didn't help either.
  • Posts: 14,800
    Regarding Roger Moore, I'd like to add something: he started his Bond tenure at 45, at an age when otherwise his career would have naturally taken a dive, given the roles he had. He played the dashing hero (Ivanhoe, The Saint, Brett Sinclair) and although he benefitted from a youthful look, thar would have ended some day. He would have has to change character type, or genre, or medium, otherwise he was condemned to be a has been. With Bond, his career got a second life. When he ended his tenure as Bond, it was normal that he wouldn't be as successful. Connery had plenty of time and opportunities to expand his range. But Moore did admirable work with UNICEF after Bond. (And on a side note, I loved his narration of a Frankenstein documentary. Been wanting to find it online for years.)
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 14,861
    I always got the impression that Roger went into semi-retirement after Bond to be honest, I don't think he was particularly hungry for it. He kept working obviously, but I think he was also pretty happy living in Monaco and seeing his family, and obviously the Unicef work was his passion.

    Really it's only Connery who actually had a really decent career which went from strength to strength after Bond: the others all suffered diminishing returns of various kinds. Brosnan did better than most though.
    We'll see how Craig gets on: obviously he's got his Knives Out films to make but he is also older than most Bonds when they stopped so it may be a trickier time for his career. I think he'll go into character parts quite well though.
  • Posts: 14,800
    mtm wrote: »
    I always got the impression that Roger went into semi-retirement after Bond to be honest, I don't think he was particularly hungry for it. He kept working obviously, but I think he was also pretty happy living in Monaco and seeing his family, and obviously the Unicef work was his passion.

    Really it's only Connery who actually had a really decent career which went from strength to strength after Bond: the others all suffered diminishing returns of various kinds. Brosnan did better than most though.
    We'll see how Craig gets on: obviously he's got his Knives Out films to make but he is also older than most Bonds when they stopped so it may be a trickier time for his career. I think he'll go into character parts quite well though.

    I think Craig will have more flexibility post Bond, somehow. He might not make big blockbusters anymore, but he'll do the fun projects he wants.
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 538
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I think Craig will have more flexibility post Bond, somehow. He might not make big blockbusters anymore, but he'll do the fun projects he wants.


    I agree. He already has a lot of money, so money won't be the main motivating factor for what film he makes.

    And he seems like a humble person, so I don't think he feels compelled to take on roles solely for the sake of improving his image or being immensely famous.

    At this point, I expect him to do what he enjoys.
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 538
    Would Moore's career trajectory have changed if he stopped at FYEO. And got into other movie in that 4 year period instead of a 6th and 7th Bond film.
  • Posts: 526
    The Laz. Did this man accomplish anything after Bond? Question: does anyone know if they considered him for NSNA? Just curious.
  • Posts: 15,785
    The Laz. Did this man accomplish anything after Bond? Question: does anyone know if they considered him for NSNA? Just curious.

    I don't really believe he was considered for NSNA. I doubt the film would've even been green-lit without Connery's name attached.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    Connery was a producer on it so I doubt anyone else was ever part of it.
  • Posts: 2,400
    The Laz. Did this man accomplish anything after Bond? Question: does anyone know if they considered him for NSNA? Just curious.

    I actually really like Lazenby's work in The Man from Hong Kong, and Who Saw Her Die?, and he has a very brief but well-performed cameo in Gettysburg as well. He actually does a surprisingly convincing Southern accent in that latter film, too.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited November 2021 Posts: 6,760
    The Laz. Did this man accomplish anything after Bond? Question: does anyone know if they considered him for NSNA? Just curious.

    I actually really like Lazenby's work in The Man from Hong Kong, and Who Saw Her Die?, and he has a very brief but well-performed cameo in Gettysburg as well. He actually does a surprisingly convincing Southern accent in that latter film, too.

    WHO SAW HER DIE? (aka Chi l’ha vista morire?) is a phenomenal giallo, one of the very best I’d say.

    It stars George, also features Adolfo Celi and it has a stellar Ennio Morricone score.



    Now I’m not arguing that Lazenby had a superb post-Bond career, but this fabulous little giallo might as well be my favourite non-Bond film with a Bond actor.

    The other candidate would be The Lion in Winter.
  • Posts: 14,800
    M16_Cart wrote: »
    Would Moore's career trajectory have changed if he stopped at FYEO. And got into other movie in that 4 year period instead of a 6th and 7th Bond film.

    I don't think so, as I said Bond allowed him to play his type of character in a time when he was getting out of the age range for it. Connery changed role types after Bond: William of Baskerville, Henry Jones, Malone.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    The Laz. Did this man accomplish anything after Bond? Question: does anyone know if they considered him for NSNA? Just curious.

    I actually really like Lazenby's work in The Man from Hong Kong, and Who Saw Her Die?, and he has a very brief but well-performed cameo in Gettysburg as well. He actually does a surprisingly convincing Southern accent in that latter film, too.

    WHO SAW HER DIE? (aka Chi l’ha vista morire?) is a phenomenal giallo, one of the very best I’d say.

    It stars George, also features Adolfo Celi and it has a stellar Ennio Morricone score.



    Now I’m not arguing that Lazenby had a superb post-Bond career, but this fabulous little giallo might as well be my favourite non-Bond film with a Bond actor.

    The other candidate would be The Lion in Winter.

    Thanks, that sounds good; I’ll check it out.
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 538
    Seems like Connery had a big advantage to start Bond at age 30. Instead of 40-45 like some of the others.

    And the time between films was quicker during his time. He was able to get out 5 classics in just 6 years.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    The Laz. Did this man accomplish anything after Bond? Question: does anyone know if they considered him for NSNA? Just curious.

    I actually really like Lazenby's work in The Man from Hong Kong, and Who Saw Her Die?, and he has a very brief but well-performed cameo in Gettysburg as well. He actually does a surprisingly convincing Southern accent in that latter film, too.

    WHO SAW HER DIE? (aka Chi l’ha vista morire?) is a phenomenal giallo, one of the very best I’d say.

    It stars George, also features Adolfo Celi and it has a stellar Ennio Morricone score.



    Now I’m not arguing that Lazenby had a superb post-Bond career, but this fabulous little giallo might as well be my favourite non-Bond film with a Bond actor.

    The other candidate would be The Lion in Winter.

    I think mine is THE NAME OF THE ROSE.
  • Posts: 14,800
    M16_Cart wrote: »
    Seems like Connery had a big advantage to start Bond at age 30. Instead of 40-45 like some of the others.

    And the time between films was quicker during his time. He was able to get out 5 classics in just 6 years.

    Yes but it could have gone in the completely opposite direction and he could have turned into a has been after Bond. In fact if I'm not mistaken it took him a few years before he managed to do good projects. I think one of the advantages he had over Moore is that as he did was not known and/or typecast in his pre Bond career, he became more "flexible": he could play a medieval monk, a working class cop, an academic, etc. All he needed was gain the physical maturity. He no longer needed to play the role of the dashing romantic hero. People expected this from Moore because that's what he'd been playing all his life, until he was pushing 60. So he ended up narrating documentaries. But then again, without Bond Moore would have a much shorter career.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,760
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    The Laz. Did this man accomplish anything after Bond? Question: does anyone know if they considered him for NSNA? Just curious.

    I actually really like Lazenby's work in The Man from Hong Kong, and Who Saw Her Die?, and he has a very brief but well-performed cameo in Gettysburg as well. He actually does a surprisingly convincing Southern accent in that latter film, too.

    WHO SAW HER DIE? (aka Chi l’ha vista morire?) is a phenomenal giallo, one of the very best I’d say.

    It stars George, also features Adolfo Celi and it has a stellar Ennio Morricone score.



    Now I’m not arguing that Lazenby had a superb post-Bond career, but this fabulous little giallo might as well be my favourite non-Bond film with a Bond actor.

    The other candidate would be The Lion in Winter.

    I think mine is THE NAME OF THE ROSE.

    That’s a very fine choice as well.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 14,861
    Ludovico wrote: »
    M16_Cart wrote: »
    Seems like Connery had a big advantage to start Bond at age 30. Instead of 40-45 like some of the others.

    And the time between films was quicker during his time. He was able to get out 5 classics in just 6 years.

    Yes but it could have gone in the completely opposite direction and he could have turned into a has been after Bond. In fact if I'm not mistaken it took him a few years before he managed to do good projects.

    Yeah, early/mid 70s he perhaps struggled slightly, although still got a couple of good movies in there. It was really the mid/late 80s and 90s where he was just a straight up superstar.
    I was surprised how much the press coverage of his death focused on Bond, because I always felt he more than proved himself as a movie star beyond it and I thought he was famous in his own right, not just as an ex-Bond.
  • Posts: 1,879
    mtm wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    M16_Cart wrote: »
    Seems like Connery had a big advantage to start Bond at age 30. Instead of 40-45 like some of the others.

    And the time between films was quicker during his time. He was able to get out 5 classics in just 6 years.

    Yes but it could have gone in the completely opposite direction and he could have turned into a has been after Bond. In fact if I'm not mistaken it took him a few years before he managed to do good projects.

    Yeah, early/mid 70s he perhaps struggled slightly, although still got a couple of good movies in there. It was really the mid/late 80s and 90s where he was just a straight up superstar.
    I was surprised how much the press coverage of his death focused on Bond, because I always felt he more than proved himself as a movie star beyond it and I thought he was famous in his own right, not just as an ex-Bond.
    When you have a character as universally famous as Bond then that will almost always be the go-to association, particularly since he originated the role and played it when the films hit their peak popularity.

    Aside maybe from his Oscar-winning role as Jimmy Malone in The Untouchables, Connery never really had a character who just stood out so much he was associated with it the way he was with Bond. He was always basically playing variations of himself in each of the roles, even as a Russian submarine captain, which was fine because he was so accepted as who he was and did it well. It just doesn't always make the character stand out since they are all basically Sean Connery being Sean Connery playing some guy.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited November 2021 Posts: 14,861
    BT3366 wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    M16_Cart wrote: »
    Seems like Connery had a big advantage to start Bond at age 30. Instead of 40-45 like some of the others.

    And the time between films was quicker during his time. He was able to get out 5 classics in just 6 years.

    Yes but it could have gone in the completely opposite direction and he could have turned into a has been after Bond. In fact if I'm not mistaken it took him a few years before he managed to do good projects.

    Yeah, early/mid 70s he perhaps struggled slightly, although still got a couple of good movies in there. It was really the mid/late 80s and 90s where he was just a straight up superstar.
    I was surprised how much the press coverage of his death focused on Bond, because I always felt he more than proved himself as a movie star beyond it and I thought he was famous in his own right, not just as an ex-Bond.
    When you have a character as universally famous as Bond then that will almost always be the go-to association, particularly since he originated the role and played it when the films hit their peak popularity.

    Aside maybe from his Oscar-winning role as Jimmy Malone in The Untouchables, Connery never really had a character who just stood out so much he was associated with it the way he was with Bond. He was always basically playing variations of himself in each of the roles, even as a Russian submarine captain, which was fine because he was so accepted as who he was and did it well. It just doesn't always make the character stand out since they are all basically Sean Connery being Sean Connery playing some guy.

    Exactly though: he was famous as Sean Connery- it wasn't 'James Bond' playing all those characters. That's just what surprised me about the bond-heavy coverage.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,518
    Perhaps it was that Bond made Connery world famous (granted I could be wrong about this, not old enough to much about pre-Bond Connery :)) ), and the fact that he played Bond just as himself, that Bond and Connery became inextricably linked?

    And it seems like the way they cast Bond even now inevitably have this effect on an actor's career; they look for unknown actors so they can parade them around as "being" James Bond rather than "playing" James Bond, for marketing purposes, etc etc.

    So the actor and the role do become inextricably linked in a way that is unique to this particular role.

    Sorry if someone has already made similar points, I'm late to the party!
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