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Ranking Bond Performances By Film

BirdlesonBirdleson San Jose, CA
edited June 2018 in Bond Movies Posts: 25,609
I think that I may have seen a similar thread on here at some point, but I'm not sure and cannot find it. So it is exactly what the title says above. Were looking at each actor's specific performance in each film. We are not judging the film as a whole, strictly on the given actors interpretation of Bond at that given time. I've decided to include NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN.

1. Sean Connery in DR. NO (1962)
2. Sean Connery in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
3. Sean Connery in GOLDFINGER (1964)
4. Daniel Craig in SKYFALL (2012)
5. Sean Connery in THUNDERBALL (1965)
6. Roger Moore in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)
7. Daniel Craig in CASINO ROYALE (2006)
8. Roger Moore in LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)
9. Daniel Craig in QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)
10. Roger Moore in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)
11. Roger Moore in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)
12. Pierce Brosnan in DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)
13. Sean Connery in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)
14. Pierce Brosnan in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)
15. Timothy Dalton in LICENCE TO KILL (1989)
16. Timothy Dalton in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)
17. Pierce Brosnan in TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)
18. Sean Connery in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
19. Pierce Brosnan in GOLDENEYE (1995)
20. Roger Moore in OCTOPUSSY (1983)
21. George Lazenby in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
22. Sean Connery in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
23. Roger Moore in MOONRAKER (1977)
24. Roger Moore in A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)

This is the first time I've made such a ranking, it is definitely still in flux. The area between 11 - 19 seems to be particularly volatile. Biggest surprise to me: Moore's relatively strong showing.
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Comments

  • ThighsOfXeniaThighsOfXenia
    edited April 2015 Posts: 1,294
    Might get around to this at some point. We have the same top 5, although I couldn't order mine, aside from SF taking #5.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson San Jose, CA
    Posts: 25,609
    I'm definite about my Top Two, then it could change somewhat.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited April 2015 Posts: 15,879
    Birdleson wrote:
    Were looking at each actor's specific performance in each film. We are not judging the film as a whole, strictly on the given actors interpretation of Bond at that given time.

    #1 Tim in LTK
    #2 Tim in TLD

    No one else comes close.*


    *This was more or less not entirely serious, btw.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited April 2015 Posts: 15,879
    Okay, here's a serious attempt:

    1. Sean in FRWL
    2. Tim in LTK
    3. Sean in DN
    4. Tim in TLD
    5. Sean in TB
    6. Sean in YOLT
    7. Sean in GF
    8. Pierce in DAD
    9. Pierce in GE
    10. Roger in OP
    11. Dan in CR
    12. Dan in QOS
    13. Dan in SF
    14. Pierce in TND
    15. Roger in TMWTGG
    16. Pierce in TWINE
    17. Roger in FYEO
    18. Roger in LALD
    19. George in OHMSS
    20. Sean in DAF
    21. Roger in TSWLM
    22. Roger in MR
    23. Roger in AVTAK
    24. Sean in NSNA (yes, this last. Connery gave up on Bond after YOLT. DAF was his camp version (which I still have fun with btw), but NSNA was his paycheck/effue Cubby version more than an actual performance).
  • BirdlesonBirdleson San Jose, CA
    Posts: 25,609
    We're almost opposites in terms of Roger.
  • ChrisMC36SSRChrisMC36SSR
    Posts: 100
    1. Sean Connery in From Russia With Love
    2. Sean Connery in Dr. No
    3. Daniel Craig in Skyfall
    4. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale
    5. Sean Connery in Thunderball
    6. Sean Connery in Goldfinger
    7. Timothy Dalton in Licence to Kill
    8. Timothy Dalton in the Living Daylights
    9. Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace
    10. Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever
    11. Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me
    12. Roger Moore in Live and Let Die
    13. Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies
    14. George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    15. Roger Moore in The Man with the Golden Gun
    16. Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only
    17. Roger Moore in Octopussy
    18. Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day
    19. Roger Moore in Moonraker
    20. Roger Moore in A View To A Kill
    21. Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye
    22. Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice
    23. Pierce Brosnan in the World is Not Enough
  • BirdlesonBirdleson San Jose, CA
    Posts: 25,609
    Not bad, but I think you should give Roger's first two performances another look. Strip away all else and watch how he plays the part.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 4,892
    This is purely opinion. (Great thread, by the way @bird).

    1. Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me
    2. Roger Moore in Octopussy
    3. Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only
    4. Sean Connery in From Russia With Love
    5. Timothy Dalton in Licence to Kill
    6. Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever
    7. Roger Moore in Live and Let Die
    8. George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    9. Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights
    10. Pierce Brosnan in The World is Not Enough
    11. Sean Connery in Goldfinger
    12. Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye
    13. Roger Moore in The Man with the Golden Gun
    14. Sean Connery in Thunderball
    15. Sean Connery in Dr. No
    16. Roger Moore in Moonraker
    17. Roger Moore in A View to a Kill
    18. Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day
    19. Daniel Craig in Skyfall
    20. Daniel Craig in Casino Royale
    21. Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies
    22. Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace
    23. Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice

  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 12,801
    @MayDaydiVicenzo I really like your top 3! :-bd


    I'm trying to rank them myself, but it's very difficult.
  • PanchitoPistolesPanchitoPistoles 2.0
    Posts: 4,311
    I'm only doing a top 5, since I haven't seen many of the lesser Bond films in ages.

    1. DANIEL CRAIG in Casino Royale
    2. SEAN CONNERY in Dr. No
    3. SEAN CONNERY in From Russia With Love
    4. PIERCE BROSNAN in GoldenEye
    5. DANIEL CRAIG in Skyfall
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2015 Posts: 23,883
    This is more difficult than I thought. Such great performances. My top 10 is pretty much fixed but may vary a little bit within the rankings - the bottom bunch is not so easy to rank but I did my best (bottom 5 are pretty fixed too).

    This is purely 007 performance based (where I personally felt the essence of the character was best captured). The key for me is immense confidence, ruthlessness, sardonic wit, & yet sensitivity, all realistically portrayed - this does not reflect my movie rankings

    1. Sean Connery - FRWL
    2. Sean Connery - DN
    3. Sean Connery - TB
    4. Daniel Craig - CR
    5. Timothy Dalton - TLD
    6. Roger Moore - TMWTGG
    7. Sean Connery - GF
    8. Timothy Dalton - LTK
    9. Daniel Craig - SF
    10. Roger Moore - LALD
    11. Roger Moore - TSWLM
    12. Daniel Craig - QoS
    13. George Lazenby - OHMSS
    14. Roger Moore - OP
    15. Roger Moore - FYEO
    16. Pierce Brosnan - DAD
    17. Pierce Brosnan - GE
    18. Sean Connery - YOLT
    19. Sean Connery - DAF
    20. Pierce Brosnan - TND
    21. Roger Moore - MR
    22. Roger Moore - AVTAK
    23. Sean Connery - NSNA
    24. Pierce Brosnan - TWINE
  • SoundofthesinnersSoundofthesinners
    Posts: 3,236
    This is my first attempt at something like this, so expect the rankings to change, perhaps drastically, in the future:

    1. Sean Connery - Goldfinger
    2. Sean Connery - From Russia With Love
    3. Daniel Craig - Casino Royale
    4. Roger Moore - The Spy Who Loved Me
    5. Sean Connery- Dr. No
    6. Timothy Dalton - Licence to Kill
    7. Daniel Craig - Skyfall
    8. Sean Connery- Thunderball
    9. Pierce Brosnan - Die Another Day
    10. Pierce Brosnan - Tomorrow Never Dies
  • ThighsOfXeniaThighsOfXenia
    edited July 2015 Posts: 1,294
    Re-did on page 2
  • BirdlesonBirdleson San Jose, CA
    Posts: 25,609
    I also enjoyed Craig's performance in SF the best of his three; the most Bond-like. But I still thought the other two were close behind it.

    Why not call it your Top Thirteen?
  • ThighsOfXeniaThighsOfXenia
    Posts: 1,294
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I also enjoyed Craig's performance in SF the best of his three; the most Bond-like. But I still thought the other two were close behind it.

    Why not call it your Top Thirteen?

    Haha, I guess that's what it is. I'll change it.

    And yeah, ranking was extremely difficult. I haven't disliked a performance from Craig, but I wanted to sneak in other Bond actors if there was a tie.
  • AceHoleAceHole
    Posts: 1,472
    Top 5 was easy, didn't even need to think about it. Get's trickier from then on:

    1. Sean in FRWL
    2. Tim in LTK
    3. Sean in DN
    4. Tim in TLD
    5. Dan in CR
    6. Sean in GF
    7. Dan in SF
    8. Sean in TB
    9. Roger in FYEO
    10. Dan in QoS
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,749
    For me, it's all about Dan and Sean. I have a hard time distinguishing SC's performances from one film to another and would have to go back and thoroughly watch them again, but I do think the role got easier for him as the series progressed. He created the role from absolute scratch in DN, and that's something in and of itself. Thus, my SC rankings are chronological.

    1. DC in CR (DC has three standout scenes here that proved what kind of actor he was and why Barb and Michael got it right: the bathroom mirror scene after the stairwell fight; the shower scene with Vesper; the torture scene).
    2. SC in DN
    3. DC in SF
    4. SC in FRWL
    5. SC in GF
    6. SC in TB
    7. DC in QoS
    8. RM in LALD (The pressure on Moore was intense, and he pulled it off in a film that was a perfect fit for him at the time)
    9. SC in YOLT
    10. TD in TLD

  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 3,858
    1. Sean Connery as 007 in, From Russia With Love
    2. Sean Connery as 007 in, Thunderball
    3. Sean Connery as 007 in, Dr No
    4. Timothy Dalton as 007 in, The Living Daylights
    5. Daniel Craig as 007 in, Casino Royale
    6. Timothy Dalton as 007 in, Licence To Kill
    7. Sean Connery as 007 in, Goldfinger
    8. Pierce Brosnan as 007 in, Die Another Day
    9. Roger Moore as 007 in, The Spy Who Loved Me
    10. Roger Moore as 007 in, For Your Eyes Only
    11. Daniel Craig as 007 in, Quantum of Solace
    12. George Lazenby as 007 in, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    13. Daniel Craig as 007 in, Skyfall
    14. Pierce Brosnan as 007 in, The World Is Not Enough
    15. Roger Moore as 007 in, Octopussy
    16. Pierce Brosnan as 007 in, Tomorrow Never Dies
    17. Roger Moore as 007 in, Moonraker
    18. Sean Connery as 007 in, Diamonds Are Forever
    19. Pierce Brosnan as 007 in, GoldenEye
    20. Roger Moore as 007 in, A View To A Kill
    21. Roger Moore as 007 in, The Man With The Golden Gun
    22. Roger Moore as 007 in, Live and Let Die
    23. Sean Connery as 007 in, You Only Live Twice

    Should I include my reasoning? Nah. I imagine having the Brozz films away from the bottom will cheese a few people off, however.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 12,801
    Top 10 only:

    1. Daltonator in LTK
    2. Connery in DN
    3. Sir Rog in OP
    4. Craig in QOS
    5. Brozza in DAD
    6. Lazers in OHMSS
    7. Sir Rog in FYEO
    8. Daltonator in TLD
    9. Connery in FRWL
    10. Craig in CR
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 15,879
    royale65 wrote: »
    8. Pierce Brosnan as 007 in, Die Another Day
    Good call, sir!
    :)>-
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    edited April 2015 Posts: 3,858
    Thank you dear Sir! The film itself is, well, we don't need to go over that again, but the Brozzman performance is pretty terrific.

    @DaltonCraig007 - no love for Sir Rog in TMWTGG?
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 12,801
    @royale65 TMWTGG is Sir Rog's best performance, but I personally prefer his Rogering in his 2nd half of tenure (MR-AVTAK).
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 3,858
    as do I old boy!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 15,879
    royale65 wrote: »
    Thank you dear Sir! The film itself is, well, we don't need to go over that again, but the Brozzman performance is pretty terrific.
    He and the Pikelette are the reasons to watch it.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson San Jose, CA
    Posts: 25,609
    I'm bumping this because I'd like to hear more voices. Remember, it's not the ranking of the film on your personal list, it's not even ranking their ability as an actor (Craig would take all three top spots on my list, if that were the case), it's each actor's interpretation of the character of James Bond in each individual film that we are ranking.
  • Kostas_PKostas_P
    Posts: 159
    Top 10

    01. Connery in FRWL
    02. Connery in TB
    03. Moore in TMWTGG
    04. Dalton in TLD
    05. Brosnan in TND
    06. Craig in QOS
    07. Connery in GF
    08. Moore in OP
    09. Dalton in LTK
    10. Craig in CR

  • WVPoefWVPoef
    Posts: 147
    1)Connery in GF
    2)Connery in TB
    3)Craig in CR
    4)Moore in TSWLM
    5)Connery in FRWL
    6)Dalton in TLD
    7)Craig in SF
    8)Dalton in LTK
    9)Lazenby in OHMSS
    10)Moore in FYIO
    11)Brosnan in TND
    12)Connery in DN
    13)Brosnan in GE
    14)Moore in MR
    15)Craig in QoS
    16)Moore OP
    17)Moore in LALD
    18)Brosnan in TWINE
    19)Connery in YOLT
    20)Moore in TMWTGG
    21)Brosnan in TND
    22)Connery in DAF
    23)Moore in AVTK

  • jobojobo
    Posts: 3,759
    Sorry. Too difficult for me to rank this.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 6,309
    Birdleson wrote: »
    it's not even ranking their ability as an actor
    I'm working on mine.
    I understand that we're not supposed to judge only their acting performance but surely that is one of the factors involved, right?
  • BirdlesonBirdleson San Jose, CA
    Posts: 25,609
    Yes, in that if the ability is not there they will not be convincing period, much less as Bond. So I guess I'm saying to look beyond the ability, not instead.
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