A new study reveals that Timothy Dalton ranks as the most popular actor to have played James Bond amongst the six other stars over the years. Dalton first appeared as Ian Fleming's iconic MI6 agent in 1987's The Living Daylights, taking over the role from Roger Moore. The star would portray the character one more time in Licence to Kill and was expected to return for one more film, though due to a new installment languishing in development hell for five years, he ultimately resigned from the franchise.
Eon Productions would soldier on and cast Pierce Brosnan as Bond for 1995's GoldenEye, which would become a critical and commercial success, with many believing the new star to be an improvement over Dalton. This wouldn't last long, however, as Brosnan's sequels saw decidedly mixed responses, leading Eon to elect to reboot the franchise with 2006's Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig as a younger Bond in the start of his career. Craig's debut outing would see further critical and commercial acclaim and lead to his returning for four more films, concluding his run with this month's No Time to Die.
A new study from Casumo reveals that Dalton is the most popular Bond performer with audiences. Utilizing data from IMDb, the study finds that Dalton ranks at the top with an average rating of 7.3 out of 10, narrowly beating out Daniel Craig with 7.2 and Sean Connery at 6.9. Brosnan ranked at fourth place with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10 while Roger Moore comes in fifth at the same rating of 6.6 and George Lazenby finishes in last place with 6.1.
As with superheroes that have been portrayed by multiple stars over the years, the role of James Bond has been widely debated by fans over the years of who sits as the best of them all. Most conversations tend to pit original performer Sean Connery and current star Craig against one another, especially given the overall quality and innovative natures of their films, which should make Dalton's top ranking as a surprise for many. The actor's casting in the part came at an interesting time in the franchise with Brosnan the top choice for producers to carry on the role, only for his commitments to Remington Steele to prevent him from taking the part.
Though only having portrayed James Bond for two films, Dalton's portrayal of the super spy did mark an important evolution for the character, moving away from the campier nature of Connery's later films and Moore's tenure to a darker one. While it saw a mixed reception at the time, it would be an element that would see Brosnan receive praise in GoldenEye and that critics would state Craig's tenure ultimately perfected. As Craig is bowing out with No Time to Die, only time will tell whether the next star can eclipse he and Dalton as the most popular star of the franchise.
Source: Casumo
