Rank the actors

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  • Whirlybird_FanWhirlybird_Fan Sydney, Australia
    Posts: 48
    1. Brosnan
    2. Craig
    3. Moore
    4. Connery
    5. Dalton
    6. Lazenby
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 541
    I know Craig is #1 and Lazenby is #6. The others are a tossup.

    My biggest difficulty is where to place Moore. He is one of my favorite Bond actors, but he also had one of the worst catalogs.
  • Posts: 229
    Have my list on page 33 and it hasn't changed. But as I get older Dalton pulls closer to Connery for the no. 1 spot. Really I think if he could have done a full compliment of films he'd be no. 1 for me. Aside from not sticking the one liners Dalton is pretty much the ideal Bond.
  • Posts: 12,436
    Now with 6 complete tenures:

    1. Sean Connery
    2. Daniel Craig
    3. George Lazenby
    4. Timothy Dalton
    5. Roger Moore
    6. Pierce Brosnan

    I think Craig’s performances in CR and NTTD are the most impressive of any in the series, and his QOS and SF performances are also extremely good. However, his SP is the weakest in the series IMO (he just felt off somehow to me, too silly / weird), so I can’t quite hold him above Connery, who I think turned in A+ performances in his first four and still has his moments in his weaker two with YOLT and DAF.

    I love Lazenby, despite only one film to judge him on. Very human, enjoyable Bond to me. Really wish he and Dalton got some more. Speaking of Dalton, I have him pretty interchangeably with Moore at #4 and #5. Dalton’s a more serious, Fleming Bond, while Moore is often a bit on the extreme of silly, but still very entertaining. I go back and forth on it.

    Brosnan, who I still like quite a bit, has to take last place just for being the least original and having the least amount of quality films to help him out. He is very well rounded and fun to watch still. Kind of think of him as a jack of all trades, master of none with all Bond’s signature qualities.

    Whoever Bond #7 is will have a hard time getting anywhere above the bottom spot given how much I love them all, but I remain hopeful given the track record.
  • Posts: 131
    I find it easier to rank films than actors, as each Bond star bar Lazenby had a relatively mixed bag of films, whose quality was often more driven by plot than star performance. My actor preferences are purely subjective, based on acting style, projected persona, manner and looks, rather than a ranking based on the aggregate quality of their respective “bodies of work”:

    Dalton (best fits Bond’s persona IMO; film-wise I prefer TLD to LTK but am very fond of both)
    Brosnan (more lightweight but suitably polished, pretty good in action and can carry a hint of menace when needed; GE and TND are great fun rides, TWINE and DAD are anything but, but they have their good moments)
    Connery (the classic; I love GF, like YOLT for the story/settings and NSNA for the nostalgia, and respect DN and FRWL for the iconic quality, but TB and DAF are letdowns IMO)
    Lazenby (an OK Bond buoyed up by a good film and charismatic co-star)
    Moore (too camp for me; I really like TSWLM and FYEO, the rest are not my favourites by any measure, but are still mostly watchable)
    Craig (not a popular opinion but IMO lacks charisma and sophistication; a solid actor with excellent turns in SF and CR, but I have never really bought him as Bond... my loss, I know)
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    edited October 2021 Posts: 1,130
    I think I already ranked them and even though I wasn’t crazy about no time to die Daniel Craig still makes my top 3.

    Here I’m gonna repeat my ranking even though it didn’t change much.


    My bonds ranking

    1 Pierce Brosnan
    2 Sean Connery
    3 Daniel Craig
    4 Timothy Dalton
    5 Roger Moore
    6 George Lazenby
  • M16_CartM16_Cart Craig fanboy?
    Posts: 541
    S+: Craig, Connery (earlier films)
    S: Dalton, Brosnan
    A: Moore
    B: Lazenby
    C: Connery (later films)
  • 00Heaven00Heaven Home
    Posts: 575
    It's mad that I'm going to rank them all... The thing is, I truly love every single one of them and I've banged on over and over about how we've been blessed with six great actors in their own ways. None of them are bad. We're lucky fans. I can sit down and throw any film of any of them on and be entertained.

    Anyway, here is my ranking...

    1. Craig
    2. Dalton
    3. Connery
    4. Brosnan
    5. Lazenby
    6. Moore

    Sorry, Rog. You're still fab to me!
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 2,161
    Connery, Moore and Craig all have their ups and downs, but Brosnan is very consistent. Didn't seem to help his placement though (and I do think he's pretty good, but he never gave us a knock out performance). Love them all in the role.

    1. Connery
    2. Moore
    3. Craig
    4. Lazenby/Dalton/Brosnan

  • Posts: 207
    1. Timothy Dalton
    2. Sean Connery
    3. Pierce Brosnan
    4. Daniel Craig
    5. George Lazenby
    6. Roger Moore
  • Brosnan
    Craig
    Dalton
    Connery
    Moore
    Lazenby
  • RyanRyan Canada
    Posts: 692
    1. Daniel Craig
    2. Timothy Dalton
    3. Sean Connery
    4. Roger Moore
    5. Pierce Brosnan
    6. George Lazenby

    For what it's worth, I like them all. Brosnan and Moore could interchange depending on my mood, and Lazenby is only really last by default. OHMSS remains one of my top favourites and I think he's quite good in it considering the lack of experience.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited December 2021 Posts: 3,136
    This thread's based on actual acting ability, not favourite Bond, right? Ok:

    Craig (out on front by quite some way).
    Connery - Dalton (just about tied: I'm actually minded towards Dalton, but give it to Connery on the basis of The Hill).
    Moore - Brosnan (just about tied again, but tip it to Sir Rog on the basis of The Man Who Haunted Himself).
    Lazenby (sorry George; a truly great final scene but...).
  • Posts: 2,161
    I think you may be underselling Brosnan a bit. Have you seen him in GHOST WRITER?
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited December 2021 Posts: 3,136
    I have actually and I'd forgotten all about it! Yes, I see what you mean - he was at least as good in that as Moore was in TMWHH. Thinking about it, I saw Seraphim Falls on early hours tv last week - the bit where Pierce removes the bullet and cauterises the wound is a Painface tour de force (and not in a good way) and may have influenced me unfavourably! Yeah, you've convinced me: Brozza in fourth place.
  • Posts: 2,161
    A rare occurence on here!
  • edited December 2021 Posts: 2,161
    My suggestions for some of the others (if anyone is at all interested):

    Sean Connery THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975) John Huston, a masterpiece in every way
    George Lazenby SAINT JACK (1979) Peter Bogdanovich, the movie is tough to get through, but George does a fine job
    Timothy Dalton THE LION IN WINTER (1968) Anthony Harvey, the screen debut of both Dalton and Anthony Hopkins

    I hate to say it, but as much as I love Roger, he's never really impressed me in anything outside of his great Bondman moments.
  • Major_BoothroydMajor_Boothroyd Republic of Isthmus
    Posts: 2,722
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I think you may be underselling Brosnan a bit. Have you seen him in GHOST WRITER?

    Good call. He's great in that film. Also he's very good in 'The Matador'. I quite liked him in Martin Campbell's 'The Foreigner' and 'The Tailor of Panama'. I think in the hands of a clear director like John Boorman or dare I say his name...Roman Polanski...Brosnan is capable of delivering some really nuanced performances. But when he's left to his own devices he can be indulged in his worst tendencies.
  • Posts: 2,161
    I love him in THE MATADOR, he's funny as all Hell.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,136
    Birdleson wrote: »
    A rare occurence on here!

    Hey, when you're right, you're right!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited December 2021 Posts: 17,788
    New ranking:
    The Best: Connery & Dalton
    My Man: Brosnan
    Cool Beans: Moore
    Excellent Placeholder: Lazenby
    The Bourne-like guy I initially wasn't thrilled with that I came to accept because I had to but went out in a way I REALLY wasn't thrilled with: Craig
  • KenAustinKenAustin United States
    Posts: 226
    1) Connery
    2) Brosnan
    3) Craig
    4) Moore
    5) Dalton
    6) Lazenby
  • 00Heaven00Heaven Home
    Posts: 575
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I love him in THE MATADOR, he's funny as all Hell.

    Another lover of The Matador! :)>-
  • bpwcpy7x8hh81.png

    1. Connery
    2. Lazenby
    3. Brosnan
    4. Craig
    5. Dalton
    6. Moore
  • 1.Connery
    2.Moore
    3.Brosnan
    4.Lazenby
    5.Dalton
    6.Craig
  • Posts: 1,394
    The Drinker ranks all the Bond actors...


  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,073
    A few weeks ago I did a ‘Complete and Detailed Bond film ranking’ in our thread of the same name, and after some consideration I feel confident to write down my thoughts on the main man too.

    Now, I’d like to point that I like every single Bond actor so far. With no exception.

    7. David Niven
    I included CR67 in my film ranking, so I’m including David Niven here too. Now I love David Niven. He is one of my very favourite actors, and I can’t remember not liking a single performance I’ve seen from him. Back in the day when I joined KTBEU, Niven was my avatar. That being said, this is a Bond actor ranking, which makes it hard to put any of the others lower than him, since David only portrayed a version of Bond in the chaotic spoof that is CR67. So with pain in my heart, Niv comes in at 7.

    6. Daniel Craig
    The latest incarnation has been a bit hit-and-miss for me. I love the energy Dan Craig brought to the table in his first two outings, but the washed up energy-free has-been portrayal of Bond in SF was not to my taste. In SP and NTTD he gets a little bit more jovial at times, but the heights of his more Daltonesque performances in CR and QOS were never reached again.

    5. Pierce Brosnan
    The 007 of my youth, I grew up with Pierce and I’ll always have a soft spot for him. I loved playing the Bond video games of the time too, and I don’t even mind that TWINE and DAD almost feel like they are one at times. Having said that, Brosnan was also born to wear a suit, the man has a confident swagger to him that few can match. Questionable oneliners and adolescent writing keep him away from the top spots though.

    4. Sean Connery
    Definitely controversial, but putting all his Bond portrayals together, this is where I’d rank this cinema giant’s 007 career. Connery in the Terence Young films is the archetype of a great Bond performance, but YOLT might possibly be the dullest incarnation of the character yet. His returning efforts in DAF and NSNA, while not up to his own early standards, at least brought some joy back into his eyes. Sean in DN-FRWL-TB is top 2 for me, but Sean in YOLT is near the bottom.

    3. Roger Moore
    Capable of much mo(o)re than many would give him credit for, Rog’s Bond is like an old friend who’ll always be welcome at my table. Silly at times for sure, but always with much gusto, even in the most berserk situations. The only outing that I feel is a bit less, is LALD, where I think he’s still searching a bit. Apart from that he’s always great, even when visibly way too old like in AVTAK. If you can get away with clown makeups and Bondola escapes, “you must be good”.

    2. George Lazenby
    Personally, I’ll never understand why George is the bottom finish, by definition almost, on practically every online ‘Bond actor ranking’. The Laz was stylish, confident, yet ultimately also very relatable. I do not agree with the criticism that his acting is wooden, since I just do not see that. Moreover, this non-professional actor manages to convincingly carry the most heart-breaking scene in Bond history. That indeed did not happen to any of the other fella’s.

    1. Timothy Dalton
    It’s never been a secret that this fan’s favourite 007 is Timothy Dalton. Striking the right balance between the sophisticated gentleman-spy, literature-inspired finesse, and human vulnerability, Dalton is equally believable when he’s interrogating Pushkin as he is when he picks out a different champagne because the other one was ‘questionable’ or when he silently observes the battlefield of his revenge with a melancholic sigh. It’s all in the details with Tim, more than with anyone else. This man can say more with one gaze than other actors can say with a thousand words. Not only is Tim my favourite Bond, he might even be my favourite actor.
  • 1) Connery
    2) Moore/Dalton
    3) Brosnan
    4) Lazenby
    5) Craig
  • GoldenGun wrote: »
    1. Timothy Dalton
    It’s never been a secret that this fan’s favourite 007 is Timothy Dalton. Striking the right balance between the sophisticated gentleman-spy, literature-inspired finesse, and human vulnerability, Dalton is equally believable when he’s interrogating Pushkin as he is when he picks out a different champagne because the other one was ‘questionable’ or when he silently observes the battlefield of his revenge with a melancholic sigh. It’s all in the details with Tim, more than with anyone else. This man can say more with one gaze than other actors can say with a thousand words. Not only is Tim my favourite Bond, he might even be my favourite actor.

    Great to see some appreciation for Tim! I love his portrait of Bond and him as an actor in general. Great class. Such a shame we couldn’t see more of him as 007.
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