James Bond has become an institution onscreen as well as off screen.  Many actors have taken their clues from the debonair British spy who could kiss the girl and disarm a nuclear device with his left hand.  The brainchild of Ian Fleming, this character became the leading man of a large number of books and also short stories. Of course, if was only a matter of time before the silver screen took a liking to the smooth talking and fast shooting secret agent, and a large number of actors are remembered for their contributions to the persona of this larger than life character.  The most famous portrayals, however, were made without a doubt by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, and Roger Moore.  This collection of actors span about 15 movies made, and is by many considered the early James Bond movies.

1. First there was Sean Connery’s inaugural portrayal of the spy in “Dr. No.” It is interesting to note that Sean Connery was not the first choice as impersonation of James Bond.  As a matter of fact, the names Cary Grant, James Mason and even David Niven were bandied around for a while. It appeared that Mr. Niven was a shoo-in, especially seeing that Ian Fleming really wanted him, but Sean Connery somehow managed to convince the producers that he would be the right man for the job – the year was 1962.
2. In 1963 “From Russia with Love” premiered at the box office.  Once again Sean Connery gave life to the smooth secret agent. This is the first time that “Q”, the man in charge of keeping 007 well armed and dangerous, is portrayed by Desmond Llewelyn.  Mr. Llewelyn would keep this role until his death.  It is interesting to note that originally Peter Burton played the role in the first James Bond movie, but doe to scheduling problems he was not available.
3. The years 1964, 1965, and 1967 saw three more James Bond movies, all starring Sean Connery.  Respectively, they were “Goldfinger”, “Thunderball”, and “You Only Live Twice”.
4. 1969 saw the first major change in the depiction of the debonair spy when George Lazenby took on the role in the movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” Despite the box office gold that Sean Connery’s depiction of the character had earned, he decided it was time to move on to other roles, in part to avoid being typecast.  The producers were in a quandary, and after considering Timothy Dalton as well as Roger Moore, they settled on George Lazenby. Surprisingly, the actor had enough of James Bond after only one movie, and refused a lucrative contract guaranteeing him the starring role in seven future James Bond movies.
5. In 1971 Sean Connery was back in his final incarnation of the British spy in the movie “Diamonds Are Forever.”
6. 1973 is the year that ushered in Roger Moore as James Bond. Mr. Moore would be the new James Bond for seven movies, beginning with “Live And Let Die”, and including also “The Man With The Golden Gun,” “The Spy Who Loved Me,” “Moonraker,” “For Your Eyes Only,” “Octopussy,” and “A View To A Kill.”  Sean Connery had already made it clear that he wanted to avoid being type-cast and did therefore not want to renew his contract for James Bond. The producers once again cast their nets, and several finalists, amongst them Julian Glover and Michael Billington emerged.  In the end, Roger Moore won out. The 1985 movie “A View to a Kill” is the final James Bond movie starring Roger Moore. The actor’s age, he was 57 when the movie was released, may have played a role in the decision to star a younger actor to portray the ever popular 007 in the next movie.

It is fascinating to delve into the classic James Bond movies and follow the many steps in the progression of casting a two-dimensional book character into a living, breathing individual.  For many movie lovers, Sean Connery is the quintessential Bond, while others regard Roger Moore as the true incarnation of the 007 British secret service agents.  Even George Lazenby has a sizeable following that regards the rugged machismo the actor brought to the role as the sure sign that he was the one actor who got it right.  While there probably never will be an agreement as to who the greatest is amongst these three, it goes without saying that all of them have added to the character, and each actor brought so much more to the role.