[Update May 5th, 2020] This great list of James Bond actors has finally returned to its original home at AllYouNeedIsLists.com and updated with some new information, including No Time To Die.

It’s already been about 16 months since the List Of All James Bond Movies. So here’s an awesome follow-up with all the actors who played 007, along with some fun facts and basic information.

Update: By popular demand, the first two on this list are non-Eon-produced James Bond actors

So, without further ado, here’s the list of all James Bond actors from the 1950s until today, with details about 007 Actors Barry Nelson, David Niven, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and of course Daniel Craig!

Barry Nelson

• Date of birth: April 16, 1917
• Place of birth: San Fransisco, California
• Birth name: Robert Haakon Nielsen
• Fun fact: The very first actor to depict Ian Fleming’s James Bond character, 8 years before the first “official” EON production with Sean Connery
• Times he played 007: 1 time

Barry Nelson’s James Bond movies:

1. Climax! Series: Casino Royale

• Release: 1954
• His age at release: 37
• Salary: ? (anyone knows?)
• Fun fact: Producer Gregory Ratoff paid $1,000 to Ian Fleming to get the rights for a series episode about James Bond.

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

David Niven

• Date of birth: March 1, 1910
• Place of birth: London, UK
• Birth name: James David Graham Niven
• Died: July 29th, 1983 (73) from ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
• Fun fact: Niven was in the army in World War II, joined the Commandos and later acted in official war movies by the Army Film Unit
• Times he played 007: 1 time

David Niven’s James Bond movies:

1. Casino Royale (.. is too much for one James Bond)

• Release: 1967
• His age at release: 57
• Salary: ? (anyone knows?)
• Fun fact: Niven is co-starred in Casino Royale by Peter Selles and Woody Allen

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

Sean Connery

• Date of birth: August 25, 1930
• Place of birth: Fountainbridge, Scotland
• Birth name: Thomas Sean Connery
• Died: October 31st, 2020 (90)
• Fun fact: Started losing his hair at 21, wears a toupee in all the James Bond movies.
• Times he played 007: 7 times

Sean Connery’s James Bond movies:

1. James Bond: Dr. No

• Release: 1962
• His age at release: 32
• Salary: $100,000
• Fun fact: Fortunately this was the only movie in which James Bond sung.. (“Under The Mango Tree”)

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

2. James Bond: From Russia With Love

• Release: 1963
• His age at release: 33
• Salary: $250,000
• Fun fact: Sean Connery received eight specially tailored Saville Row suits for this movie, $2,000 each.

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

3. James Bond: Goldfinger

• Release: 1964
• His age at release: 34
• Salary: $500,000
• Fun fact: Sean Connery never traveled to the United States to film this movie. Every scene in which he appears to be in the USA was filmed in Pinewood Studios outside London. This explains why Bond flips a light switch down to discover the golden corpse of Jill, as English light switches are generally turned on by flicking them down instead of up (source: IMDB)

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4. James Bond: Thunderball

• Release: 1965
• His age at release: 35
• Salary: $600,000
• Fun fact: Thunderball is Sean Connery’s personal favorite movie in his role as agent 007.

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5. James Bond: You Only Live Twice

• Release: 1967
• His age at release: 36
• Salary: $1,000,000
• Fun fact: After the film wrapped, Connery was reportedly asked whether he found Japanese women attractive to which he allegedly replied, “No,” causing many Japanese to call him bad names. (source: IMDB)

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6. James Bond: Diamonds Are Forever

• Release: 1971
• His age at release: 41
• Salary: $1,250,000
• Fun fact: This is the first and one of the few titles in which James Bond has sex with only one woman in the entire movie.

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

7. James Bond: Never Say Never Again

(unofficial 007 title, see info in List Of James Bond Movies post)

• Release: 1983
• His age at release: 53
• Salary: $5,000,000
• Fun fact: A young Steven Seagal was the martial arts instructor for this film. He broke Sean Connery’s wrist during training. (source: IMDB)

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George Lazenby

• Date of birth: September 5th, 1939
• Place of birth: Goulburn, Australia
• Birth name: George Robert Lazenby
• Fun fact: Having done only one James Bond movie, George became actually a metaphor for something forgettable: “It was a mistake, like casting George Lazenby as 007”. On the other hand, Lazenby was offered a contract for 7 James Bond movies, but was convinced by his agent to quit because secret agent movies wouldn’t stay popular.
• Times he played 007: 1 time

George Lazenby’s 007 movies:

1. James Bond: On Her Majesty’s Service

• Release: 1969
• George Lazenby’s age at release: 30
• Salary: £50,000
• Fun fact: In the original take of the final scene featuring Tracy’s death, George Lazenby came to tears. Director Peter R. Hunt then made them shoot the scene again because he said that, “Bond does not cry.” (source: IMDB)

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

Roger Moore

• Date of birth: October 14, 1927
• Place of birth: Stockwell, UK
• Birth name: Roger George Moore
• Died: May 23rd, 2017. He died at home from prostate cancer, in presence of his family.
• Fun fact: In all of seven James Bond appearances, Roger Moore never ordered a vodka martini “shaken, not stirred”
• Times he played 007: 7 times

Roger Moore’s 007 movies:

1. James Bond: Live and Let Die

• Release: 1973
• His age at release: 46
• Salary: $1,000,000
• Fun fact: Sean Connery turned down the then astronomical sum of $5.5 million to play James Bond. Connery gave Roger Moore his personal seal of approval for inheriting his role, calling him “an ideal Bond”. (source: IMDB)

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray

2. James Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun

• Release: 1974
• His age at release: 47
• Salary: $1,000,000
• Fun fact: One of the lowest-grossing Bond films. That fact, combined with behind-the-scenes problems, nearly made this the final Bond film, and delayed production of The Spy Who Loved Me. –IMDB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray

3. James Bond: The Spy who Loved Me

• Release: 1977
• His age at release: 49
• Salary: $1,000,000
• Fun fact: The movie received Three Academy Award Nominations – the most ever received by a James Bond movie to date. These were for Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Best Score, and Best Song – “Nobody Does It Better”. –IMDB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray

4. James Bond: Moonraker

• Release: 1979
• His age at release: 51
• Salary: $4,000,000
• Fun fact: To build the gigantic three level Space Station set interiors at France’s Epinay Studios, the production utilized two tons of nails, one hundred tons of metal, two hundred and twenty technicians and ten thousand feet of set construction woodwork. –IDMB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray

5. James Bond: For Your Eyes Only

• Release: 1981
• His age at release: 53
• Salary: $4,600,000
• Fun fact: Director John Glen estimated that every foot of film shot during the attempted drowning of Melina and Bond by Kristatos cost about £ 2,700 UK pounds. –IMDB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray

6. James Bond: Octopussy

• Release: 1983
• His age at release: 55
• Salary: $5,200,000
• Fun fact: A hand with a pair of eights in the card game Texas Hold ‘Em Poker is called an “Octopussy”. This same hand is shown during one of the card games in Casino Royale (2006).

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray

7. James Bond: A View to a Kill

• Release: 1985
• His age at release: 57
• Salary: $7,500,000
• Fun fact: When Grace Jones as May Day screams during the mine sequence when sparks fly around her, her screams are for real. She did not know that electric cables around her would go off as a special effect for the scene. –IMDB.com

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Timothy Dalton

• Date of birth: March 21st, 1946
• Place of birth: Colwyn Bay, Wales, UK
• Birth name: Timothy Dalton
• Fun fact: Timothy Dalton is said to have best portrayed James Bond the way Ian Fleming intended in the novels. This is because of his more serious and “darker” acting style.
• Times he played 007: 2 times

Timothy Dalton’s Jamesa Bond movies:

1. James Bond: The Living Daylights

• Release: 1987
• His age at release: 41
• Salary: $3,000,000
• Fun fact: The literal translations of some of The Living Daylights (1987)’s foreign language titles include “Spies Die At Dawn” (Denmark); “007: High Tension” (Spain); “Death Is Not A Game” (France); “Icecold Mission” (Sweden); “His Name Is Danger” (Chile); “Breeze Of Death” (West Germany) and “007 In The Dangerous Zone” (Hebrew). –IMDB.com

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2. James Bond: Licence To Kill

• Release: 1989
• His age at release: 43
• Salary: $5,000,000
• Fun fact: Despite being one of the least commercially successful Bond movies in the United States, it was considered by director John Glen his best “007”. This opinion is shared by some fans and critics who praise the realism. –IMDB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

Pierce Brosnan

• Date of birth: May 16h, 1953
• Place of birth: Drogheda, Ireland
• Birth name: Pierce Brendan Brosnan
• Fun fact: Brosnan was chosen as most beautiful or sexy man alive multiple times.
• Times he played 007: 4 times

Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond movies:

1. James Bond: Goldeneye

• Release: 1995
• His age at release: 42
• Salary: $1,200,000
• Fun fact: The first of the James Bond films ever to be released on DVD.

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

2. James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies

• Release: 1997
• His age at release: 44
• Salary: $8,200,000
• Fun fact: 15 BMW 750’s were destroyed in the making of the film.

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3. James Bond: The World Is Not Enough

• Release: 1999
• His age at release: 46
• Salary: $12,400,000
• Fun fact: The destruction of Valentin’s factory operations took approximately 5 months to complete.

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

4. James Bond: Die Another Day

• Release: 2002
• His age at release: 49
• Salary: $16,500,000
• Fun fact: Both the Aston Martin and the Jaguar were completely stripped of engine and running gear. These were replaced by the Ford V8, 4WD kit and 4spd Auto ‘box from Ford’s Explorer. This was to help them perform on ice. –IMDB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

Daniel Craig

• Date of birth: March 2nd, 1968
• Place of birth: Chester, England, UK
• Birth name: Daniel Wroughton Craig
• Fun fact: He is the first Bond actor to have been born after the Bond series began.
• Times he played 007: three times, but Craig signed for a total of 5 Bond movies

Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies:

1. James Bond: Casino Royale

• Release: 2006
• His age at release: 38
• Salary: $3,200,000
• Fun fact: Most of the cars seen in the movie are made by Ford Motor Company. In the scene where Bond acts as a valet the cars in the parking lot are Land Rovers, Volvos, Jaguars and other Ford Motor Company’s cars. –IMDB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

2. James Bond: Quantum of Solace

• Release: 2008
• His age at release: 40
• Salary: $7,300,000
• Fun fact: The film shoot used 200,000 rounds of blank bullets which were used for training, testing and filming. –IMDB.com

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

3. James Bond: Skyfall

• Release: November 2012
• His age at release: 44
• Salary: $ 17,100,000
• Fun fact: The remaining available Ian Fleming titles are “The Property of a Lady”, “The Hildebrand Rarity”, “Risico” and “007 in New York” (aka “Agent 007 in New York”), but the rumored titles were “Red Shadow” and “Red Sky at Morning”. The actual title “Skyfall” was announced early November 2011.

IMDB link | Buy on DVD/Blu-Ray | Watch online

4. James Bond: Spectre

• Release: 2015
• His age at release: 47
• Salary: $39,000,000
• Fun fact: The remaining available Ian Fleming book titles are “The Property of a Lady”, “The Hildebrand Rarity”, “Risico” and “007 in New York” (aka “Agent 007 in New York”)

IMDB link | Buy on Blu-ray | Watch online

5. James Bond: No Time To Die

• Release: Expected November 2020, original release was planned early 2020, but was postponed due to COVID-19
• His age at release: 52
• Salary: $25,000,000 (obviously, post-release income not counted yet)
• Fun fact: Cary Joji Fukunaga is the first American to direct a James Bond movie.

IMDB link

Conclusion

There have been quite a few James Bond actors to date and it’s hard to really tell which actor is the best James Bond of all time as there’s no accounting for taste. It’s also not entirely fair to simply look at actors’ salaries or James Bond movie gross worldwide earnings as times are always changing and what’s worth $1 million for Dr. No in 1962 could be worth $100 million for No Time To Die in 2020. Choosing the best James Bond actor will always be a matter of taste.

So who is your favorite James Bond actor?

And, perhaps more importantly, who do you think should be the next James Bond actor? My money is on Michael Fassbender, but maybe that’s just because I have a man-crush on him since the latest Alien movies. Although, Benedict Cumberbatch might also act the part in a James Bond suit and a Walther PPK in hand. Who knows?

Share your opinion in the comments below!