The most popular movie spy of all time has been played by a total of eight actors. A 9th is also set to be announced in the near future after Daniel Craig confirmed that he won't be returning to the role after No Time To Die. So, who is the best actor among the eight to ever portray the British spy?
Sean Connery and Daniel Craig are normally the favorites but the greatest Bond ever might just be Sir Roger Moore. The actor who was knighted by the Queen Of England for his services to charity first appeared as 007 in 1973's Live And Let Die. He reprised his role in six more films before bowing out. Here's why Roger Moore was the best Bond ever.
He Broke A Couple Of Bond Traditions
Roger Moore's Bond was a man who did things his own way. For starters, he never drove the iconic Aston Martin that all the other Bonds have driven. He preferred less flashy vehicles like the Citroën 2CV 6, the Alpha Romeo GTV 6 and the 1976 Lotus Espirit.
He never ordered the shaken not stirred Double Martini either. The drink was ordered for him on a couple of occasions but he never did so himself. Moore's Bond also enjoyed smoking cigars as opposed to the cigarettes that Sean Connery was known for.
The Ultimate Charmer
Of all the Bonds, Moore's Bond had the most romantic liaisons. He didn't have the sex appeal of Sean Connery but he sure did know how to convince women to like him. He managed to seduce 17 women in total over the course of 7 films. Even Cassanova would be jealous of the man.
His great statistics in romance are unlikely to be matched by any other Bond because with the changing times, it looks like the producers want to portray Bond as a "commitment man" going forward, rather than a playboy. For the first time, one Bond girl, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) is going to appear in two consecutive films.
He Was Skilled On Water
All the other Bonds have been great drivers (and even pilots) but none of them has been particularly good in water like Roger Moore's Bond. Craig's Bond can be said to be particularly terrible in water since he failed to save his drowning lover in Casino Royale.
However, Moore's Bond was always prepared for action away from land. In The Spy Who Loved Me, he managed to dodge the legendary henchman Jaws as well as Stromberg's pilot Naomi by driving his Lotus Espirit into the sea. It turns out the car could function as a submarine. Moore also had a tendency of finding himself on a motorboat in every single Bond film.
Citizen Of The World
Part of Bond's appeal is his penchant for globetrotting. One moment he is bantering with Moneypenny in the office, the next he's attending a gala in Montenegro. Moore's Bond is by far the most traveled, having visited 26 countries in total. Only Pierce Brosnan's Bond comes close, with 25 countries visited.
Every visit by Moore was warranted too. He wasn't just doing world tours and consuming taxpayers' money via plane tickets and hotel accommodations. He was either following up on a lead or chasing a villain. But to Bond, work always seems like a vacation anyway.
The Only Bond Who Went To Space
If all the Bonds were ever placed in one room and began arguing about who among them is the greatest, Moore would shut his counterparts up with one statement: "None of you ever went to space!" And then the room would be quiet.
Moonraker was the most ambitious Bond film, with the MI6 spy going to space to prevent a mega plot by villain Hugo Drax to wipe out the earth's population and create a master race. The movie was heavily influenced by the rise of the Star Wars films. The movie ended up receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.
He Fought A Python
James Bond rarely finds himself battling animals but in Moonraker, he went one on one with a python in the water. Logically, no human is capable to free themselves from the grip of a python without outside help. However, despite the snake coiling itself around his body, Bond managed to overpower it and stab its head.
One of the best moments of the film followed shortly after. Just as Bond gets out of the water, he sees Jaws standing next to him. What now? Interestingly Jaws turned out to be a good guy in this film. He even teamed up with Bond to help take down Drax.
The Most Difficult Stunts
Roger Moore's Bond films were filled with the best stunts in the whole franchise. The most impressive stunt came in The Man With The Golden Gun. While pursuing the villain Scaramanga, Bond managed to do 360-degree jump over a broken bridge while driving the AMC Hornet.
That particular stunt was so impressive that the producers decided to patent it. And in Moonraker, Bond is tossed from a plane. Facing the possibility of falling to his death, he maneuvers through the air and grabs a foe for his parachute, hanging on to him all the way.
The Most Comical Bond
Ignoring one-liners, Moore's Bond had some of the funniest moments. For example, when the henchman Nick Nack surprises him in a boat when he's making love, the spy uses a suitcase as a weapon before enclosing Nick Nack in it and throwing him overboard.
And what about the ridiculous scene where he steps on top of alligators while fleeing in Live And Let Die? Moore's Bond was always comical and at times, the movies almost looked like parodies. But that's what made them so great to watch.
He Portrayed Bond In A TV Show Too
Many years before he was cast in the EON productions franchise, plenty of people already felt that Roger Moore was the ultimate James Bond. This included the producers of BBC comedy show Mainly Millicent. Moore appeared in a 1964 episode of the show as James Bond. The show's star Millicent Martin played Russian spy Sonia Sekova.
Also, in an episode of The Saint, Moore convinces a woman that he is James Bond. Add this to the fact that Moore played James Bond in the most number of consecutive films (7), and you realize just how much the filmmakers were confident in his ability to portray the spy.
He Faced The Most Unique Villains
Moore's Bond faced some of the weirdest and most challenging villains and henchmen. There was Scaramanga, the man who not only had a golden gun but he also had three nipples. There was Mr. Big too, the drug lord who was also involved in witchcraft. Not to forget Stromberg, the Aquaman wannabe who had one of the dumbest supervillain plots in the franchise.
As for the henchmen, Jaws remains the best. He had metallic teeth that Bond eventually used to electrocute him. The most creepy one was Baron Samedi. He got killed by Bond but still managed to come back laughing. Nick Nack gave Bond a hard time too before being contained with a briefcase.