Ranking James Bond Actors | Personal Favourites

good evening mr bond fans and welcome once again to the ranking to end all rankings a video where i am going to be well ranking each of the cinematic actors who have played james bond and quite honestly this is a video that i've been daunting for quite some time i mean when you're as deep into the bond fandom as so many of us are it feels dirty to have to choose between all these different guys who played james bond it's like having a bunch of cool uncles that you like for different reasons one's better at telling jokes one's always ready for an adventure one's always crying you know it's just like real life this is actually going to be the first of three videos i'm gonna be making on the subject of ranking bonds because quite honestly there's so much different criteria involved in this that i'm splitting this into three categories my own personal totally subjective opinion who is the truest bond to the ian fleming creation and who's best if i put on my totally objective hat this video is gonna be tackling the first of those and this is all about my personal favorite so prepare for many a biased and completely individual opinion i'll be giving an overview of each actor's work on the series as well as pointing out films where i think they give their best performance where applicable obviously spoilers for laser beam his best bond performance was in on a majesty's secret service now i'm of the opinion that the bond fandom is the best fandom out there and from interactions that i've had and seen on here and on other social media platforms i think we're generally a civil bunch who are open to contrary opinions and i want to stress that going into this these are just my opinions please do let me know your own ranking in the comment section below but there's no need to throw your third nipple out of the pram if your favorite isn't the top of my own list but like i say i think that bond fans are generally a really good bunch and it certainly won't come to anything like that not like uh a few years ago when civil war broke out amongst the fandom i still remember it like it was yesterday i was part of a battalion of piers brosnan fans we just the previous day claimed the entrance to mywood studios from a lazenby group they'd put up a good fight but they were they were no match for us and today we were pushing forward we were going to attempt to claim the double 07 stage we were on our way to the rendezvous point to meet with another battalion of brosnan fans when we were ambushed by a by a splinter cell of timothy dalton fans they took us prisoner of war but my god they treated us like vermin 35 of us were captured and by the end of the war only 12 of us were left those that didn't survive by god they'd made puddles of strawberry jam out of them but we're all friends now so without further ado let's jump right in [Music] number seven yes as this is a list of all the cinematic bonds i would be remiss to not count david niven from 1967's casino royale spoof i'm specifically only touching on cinematic bonds though because you know if i bring in barry nelson's tv patrol then you could extend this to you know people who've played bonding radio dramas and video games and so on and the author mark edwards touches on this in his bond work there's that great pierce brosnan quote about more men who walked on the moon than have played james bond but really it's only true to cinema bond has certainly been portrayed in other forms of media by people who are often not talked about and i honor those people here by really not talking about them any more than this but for the sake of brevity i'm only sticking to cinematic portrayals here david niven is really interesting though as had he been cast as bond maybe 10 years prior and played it in a in a straight film i think he'd have been great niven's a terrific actor obviously and fleming even liked the idea of him as bond but he certainly got the short shrift when it came to playing bond as he only did it in the 60s spoof film now niven's one of the very best things in that film by a mile but he's not really playing bond as we know him which is a shame he's obviously playing it for laughs and his version of bond is supposed to be the antithesis of conneries and that's the gag so while niven gives a consistently entertaining performance he's certainly my least favorite portrayal of bond in cinema but that's pretty much by default this isn't really a comment on niven as an actor i think he's terrific i've seen him in many other things but as bonding casino royale 1967 nah not so much i'm sorry oh man but what you ask is quite impossible number six never happened to the other fella it's great that on her majesty's secret service has been undergoing something of a renaissance for a while now often the overlooked bond adventure and pretty much a rogue outlier for so long it's probably recognized now as one of the most mature and emotionally powerful entries in the series is anything's a matter sorry just a slight stiffness coming on yes i said mature but as such george ladies and the single performances bond has undergone something of a re-evaluation i've seen plenty of comments from people who load his performance and rank him quite highly and i can totally see where those observations come from but personally i've just never really connected with his performance like i have a good deal of the other ones and i feel like similar to niven it's kind of harsh to even judge him alongside the others as he only really had one film and a good deal of the stuff that he had to do was against what we typically think of bond to be he spends a good chunk of the film undercover as sir hilary bray and given that lazenby wasn't really an actor and this was his first film i don't think that he has the nuanced skill to pull off such a performance and by that i mean i never feel like i'm watching james bond undercover i feel like i'm watching george lazenby playing a different character and it doesn't help of course that lazenby's voice was dubbed for the scenes where he plays the hillary so there's a further disconnect with this performance there but overall the word that springs to mind whenever i think of lazenby's bond is just well wooden and i know that's something of a controversial label some people don't find him wooden at all but every time someone tells me that lazenby isn't wooden they might as well be telling me that grass is purple i just don't see it and there are times i feel like i'm winston smith in the torture scene from 1984. tell me what kind of performance am i holding up a wooden one and if the party says it is not wooden it is great what kind of performance is it however i do feel like there are definitely scenes where lazenby excels particularly when he's with diana rigg now it's tough when you pair up someone so inexperienced with someone as effortlessly talented in the field of acting as diana rigg was but for whatever reason i think these two work together really well and it's one of the most important bond bond girl relationships in the series and i also think lazenby completely nails the final scene for someone who'd never acted in a film before he performs that last scene so tenderly and with great sympathy i think he's really great in those emotional moments like i say there's no cinematic actor that i dislike so the fact that lazenby ranks at the bottom of my preferences isn't to say that i don't like his portrayal i wouldn't want on a majesty's secret service without him quite frankly but someone has to come at the bottom of the official bunch at least and for me that's lazenby sorry man [Music] number five i got the message timothy dalton is the bond actor that i feel like i've been on the biggest journey with personally there was a time when i would have outright said that i completely disliked his version of james bond so you're going to hear an awful lot of timothy dalton bashing when we got into his films in the series i just think he makes for james bond but i've certainly matured since those carefree provocative days and licensed to kill is undoubtedly the bond film i've turned around on the most and i think dalton is actually quite terrific in that film and that's in large part down to the fact that the movie feels designed to showcase his at the time new take on the character he totally suits the film and tone and he fits in really well finally enough there's actually a deleted scene from that film that i just adore and i think it's a real shame that it wasn't kept in the film because it's just it's just him as bond prepping with the tv on in the background he's smoking a cigarette but he just oozes bond in that scene he's really terrific in that film license to kill is his best performance as bond by a mile i think the thing that lets dalton down for me is the living daylights really and i feel bad because i think that some of this is kind of out of dalton's control i mean he was drafted in pretty late into the game once pierce brosnan couldn't do the role due to his tv contract hello i'm speaking with mr dalton oh hello yes well it's good news you've got the james bond part yes yes it's wonderful isn't it congratulations well we start filming in 20 minutes can you be here in 10. and as a result of that the bond of the living daylights does not feel tailored to dalton's very specific abilities and by that point roger moore had defined the character for over a decade so i guess they felt like they needed to keep in some of the gangs and some of the one-liners but dalton just can't do that as well as some of his some of his peers and so many moments end up feeling a bit cringy for me as a result and a big part of this is because they were in a deadline they didn't have time to wait they had to just write a generic bond character and uh please show up tomorrow on time mr dalton let's go we have a release date to meet maybe dalton would have ranked higher if he'd have actually gotten that third or fourth film and he'd been able to continue on his interpretation of the characters so while one of those portrayals that we have from him really gels with me an awful lot the other not so much which is why he ranks five on my list i hope the dalton fans out there can forgive me and please don't take me prisoner again i've i think i've come quite a long way when it comes to appreciating his portrayal of james bond in fact i can't even think of breakfast preserves without thinking of his very particular delivery of plenty of time for a sniper to make strawberry jam of him good morning calvin how are you hey that's a mighty fine looking breakfast you got there what are you eating oh why thank you well you know i'm just having some toast and butter and strawberry jam [Music] number four well everybody needs a hobby so what's yours resurrection okay so now we're into the really tricky territory for me because while i like all of the bond actors in their own ways i really like them from this point on starting with daniel craig who takes the number four spot on this list the most current ponz version of the character has been lauded as the more successful darker grittier take when compared with dalton's version of the character and maybe that style is destined to only work so well for me personally i think craig is a terrific actor and his 10 years bond has defined a massive chunk of the series history i mean in terms of years occupying the role from casino royal to no time to die he's had more time than any of his predecessors in the part of course his era has been somewhat defined by heightened emotional storytelling in all his films and it's a step away from the preceding 20 movies his films have become much more interconnecting i mean you could drop a complete newbie into octopussy and it could be enjoyed as a completely standalone adventure whereas try watching quantum of solace without seeing casino royale i mean that film's hard to follow at the best of times and obviously that different kind of storytelling has affected the character that we see on screen and craig to some extent has been a key creative voice behind the scenes influencing some of these choices he's credited as a co-producer on these things now so he clearly has more of an impact on the creative choices than i'd say any other bond before him some of these are great some not so much but i will say that craig himself and his portrayal of spawn is a solid constant whether i like the individual films themselves or not and i have enjoyed seeing his bond persona evolve over the years maturing into the role just as the character himself has been maturing over the films there are moments every now and then mostly inspector where i feel his portrayal is quite out of whack with what bond is i mean the moment specifically inspector where he has his outburst while blowfold is playing the video of madeleine's dad killing himself always rings really false to me but his casino royale performance is perfectly pitched and the more emotional moments work terrifically in that context so i love craig an awful lot and i think he was just the right shake-up the franchise needed at just the right point in terms of the film in which i think he gives his best performance i kind of love casino royale and skyfall for him for two different reasons the latter is a great bond performance whereas casino is a lot less traditional bond but it's that's the whole point it's by design and craig is sensational in that film but ultimately i just delight in him more in skyfall so i'm gonna have to go with that one out of the two yeah i know calvin praising skyfall to the high heavens what next golden eye love well yes obviously but uh but first number three so earlier on when i said about this list being entirely personal please do keep that in mind when i say that my third choice for this ranking is sean connery [Music] well you can't win them all yeah the one who probably more consistently ranks as the general number one than any other actor in the series is my third favorite bond not because i dislike anything he does but i just prefer a couple of the other guys that connery's legacy is bond will be treasured and appreciated for so long as human beings produce and appreciate narrative entertainment there's no doubt about that and with very good reason he was a phenomenal performer he defined the role of course by being the first of the cinematic bonds and laid the groundwork for all to follow he's so effortless in the part he can do the humor the action the womanizing he can put on this helmet and fly this goofy looking jet pack without looking like a complete idiot he could wear dungarees at 50 odd and still be the coolest person in the room and honestly cool is just the best word to use when talking about connery i don't know if there's been a cooler person in terms of just i mean you could drop this man into almost any film any scenario and he'll still be a badass number what you ask him to do the thing holding him back for me personally though is that i feel like despite him playing bond seven times there are only really two of his performances that i absolutely adore from russia with love and gold finger in doctor no they were obviously still figuring out the screen character thunderball is the beginning of him looking bored through the whole thing and you only live twice he's just so over bond that there are scenes where he looks so zoned out and fairly convinced he's just replaying his latest round of golf in his head i really should have used a six iron on that fourteenth fairway oh well always next time diamonds are forever and never say never again recapture some of the magic but not to the heights of his second and third outings in the role despite that he is imminently fun to watch in all of his films and in goldfinger in particular he's just absolutely pitch perfect his best performance has bond for my money by a mile there are moments of great humor as well as moments where he's clearly pissed off and emotional and conveying it all with a great deal of british reserve which feels completely right for the character at that time he's obviously the icon of the series and deservedly so but for me personally there are still two more actors that i love watching even more than connery [Music] number two you're expecting someone else i've been very surprised over the years how brosnan's portrayal of bond has ranked lower and lower on general polls and fan posts that i see he he was the bond that i grew up with the man who was in the part when i became a bond fan so he'll always have a special place in my heart for that and back then in the 90s and the early 2000s i remember he was being lauded as the best bond other than connery pretty regularly i feel like this is a fairly consistent thing though the consensus at any one time always seems to be well obviously conor is the best and then it kind of defaults to whoever the current bond is as second best and then it tends to be the preceding bond in the timeline before that second best is often the most criticized i find as a result i feel like we're just in a phase of brosnan bashing and he'll get his renaissance approval midway through craig's successor's tenure just like timothy dalton and roger moore were more appreciated way after their times than the part had ended but for me brosnan has always been a favorite and i think in many ways he's the perfect amalgamation of so many of the strongest elements of the bonds that came before him similar to connery i think he can do all the beats of action humor looking tough schmoozing around the casino he looks just as natural in combat gear as he does in a tux he's got that same cool factor in spades for the film where i love him the most and think that he's at his best i'm actually gonna go with goldeneye i know that there are other films that ask more of him as an actor but in goldeneye he just excels in every aspect for me a common criticism i see of brosnan is that he's a jack of all trades master of none and unlike a lot of the other bonds who occupy a particular space in their portrayals be it you know funny more serious dalton weepy craig and so on brosnan's era is kind of defined by trying to hit all of the bond beats every time and i can understand why that would rub some people up the wrong way not me though and yes i'm well aware that i'm very much influenced by the fod nostalgia i have of seeing his films when i was a kid but so what this is my list and i love watching this man as bond he was born to play the part he was the bond i always wanted to be when i was a kid he nails it for me and i've even grown to love the trademark brosnan payne face [Music] and so number one is but james i need you so does england and so of course that means my number one favorite bond actor is roger moore the first bond i ever experienced moon raikou was my first w7 film and he's the actor that every time i just delight in seeing on screen along with brosnan i feel like there's a great consistency to his performances barring a few dodgy moments in golden gun where they rather uncomfortably try to make him into some kind of cold-hearted woman beating dalt otherwise you know exactly what you're in for when you settle down for a job more bond adventure there's an effortless affordability to the man and he just seems to be having a good time no matter what he's doing he possesses in truckloads that perfect knowing quality that the best bond actors possess moore's portrayal is often criticized for not being as believable as a top secret agent as some of his peers are and obviously i can see that but in a film where a man wants to poison everyone on earth so that he can begin a new super race from his base of operations in outer space believability is not at the top of my checklist for a good time funnily enough as i said up top this list is totally subjective totally biased my feelings alone factor into this and when it comes to just undiluted joy and entertainment watching a man playing james bond on screen for two hours i get no greater enjoyment than seeing roger moore inhabit this part he's so charming and fun in everything he does particularly as bond and he fits in so well with the style of film that they were making at the time rollicking adventure yarns however all that being said i think moore's capability as a dramatic actor is criminally underrated people remember the eyebrow raises the puns the gags all of which he excels at his comedic timing and class of delivery is spot on consistently but less remembered unfortunately are the moments of personal stinging you know like when anya brings up the fate of his deceased's wife the quiet resolve as he pays respects at the grave of said wife the cold seriousness when he interrogates general olaf the quiet moments of respect when allies are killed roger moore was a bond who didn't need his actor's ego satiated he never felt a need to go big and dramatic for the sake of the art and it's just this level of knowing in regard to the material he had to work with that endears him to me so much as does his life outside of bond obviously his charity work for unicef is a legacy more important to the world than his time has bond but it's how much of a champion and ambassador to the franchise he was even after he left the role so often there seems to be bitterness involved once an actor quits or is like go from the part more just he always seemed to be so proud and happy of his contribution to the series and always so humble too i mean he makes jokes at his own expense and just always seems like such a jovial and grateful personality he knew he was incredibly fortunate to be in the position he was in life and enjoyed it to the full and it's impossible for me to disassociate this joy from his persona as bond and perhaps that lack of disassociation is why i'm going to cite moonraker as being my favorite of his performances much in that same vein of acting as connery the moments where he has to express fear and nerves he does it in such a matter of fact and realistic feeling way without going all this about it pair that with just the pure joy in which he plays this character swanning about these fantastic places and being just a constant charmer he's just terrific when i think of roger moore's bond i just think of fun times enjoyment entertainment escapism and isn't that what a good bond should do like just take the audience on a ride with them and guide them through an incredible fantastical world and just relax and have a great time roger moore does that for me every time which is why he's my favorite bond actor of them all hope you enjoyed the show good night dare i evoke that completely overused phrase that people always use when it comes to describing anything that they really like about james bond you know the one i'm talking about don't you nobody does it what's that he's in there for sure but it's locked quick get the explosive toothpaste or blow the hinges oh god it's the timothy dalton fans that come to get me okay uh i have to end this video by saying a thank you thank you thank you a massive massive thank you to all of the people who support me on patreon it's only because i hit a target on there that i'm making these ranking videos so thank you thank you thank you for your continued support you folks are awesome i really appreciate it so please do stay tuned for the next two installments in this series on ranking the bonds there's an awful lot to talk about when it comes to ranking these guys so please do stay tuned for those and this is the first video on this channel that you're watching and you've enjoyed it then please do go below and hit the subscribe button um if you want to stay up to date on other videos that i upload on this channel as well then please do go below and hit the subscribe button also below is the comment section where you can let me know your thoughts on the james bonds and for these comments too i want to give the very specific request of just having your completely unfiltered completely biased completely subjective opinions on who your favorite bond is who is just an absolute delight for you to see on screen every time please do let me know your thoughts in the comments section below also below there are links to my facebook page and my twitter page if you want to follow me on those platforms please do head over there for more details on that and until next time bond fans so long for now

Channel: Calvin Dyson

Views: 109,525

Keywords: James Bond, 007, Review, Reviews, Video Essay, Analysis, Vlogger, Vlog, Vlogging, Movies, Films, No Time To Die, Daniel Craig, Spectre, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Die Another Day, The World is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, GoldenEye, Licence to Kill, The Living Daylights, A View to a Kill, Octopussy, Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Man With the Golden Gun, Live and Let Die, Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Dr No, Ian Flemming, Reaction

Id: ljrdytF2pZo

Length: 22min 1sec (1321 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 23 2020