Since James Bond’s debut on the big screen with 1962’s Dr. No, the character plays by different actors. While original actor Sean Connery arguably remains the most iconic, each subsequent Bond actor has had his share of fans. However, each actor’s reasons for leaving the franchise, or boots from it. Join Facts Verse as we explore the reason each James Bond actor quit the franchise.
The character of James Bond first debuted on the big screen with 1962’s Dr. No.. The film inspires by the Ian Fleming novel of the same name. It features the character of the extraordinary English spy James Bond, brandishing unlimited sex appeal and a license to kill. That first film produces on a budget of over $1 million and it makes $60 million at the box office. The film makes the character of James Bond a household name and becomes popular with Sean Connery like never before. The actor hides up until the point of offering the role of James Bond. A part of why the film’s small budget allows for him.
Sean Connery stars in seven films as James Bond before officially retiring from the role. Still, stands to this day as the first person most people think of when they think of the character. The fact that Bond actors bring something unique to the table for fans to appreciate. A few epitomizes Ian Fleming’s literary creation quite as well as Sean did. The time comes for everyone to pass on the torch at some point. That time came for Sean after a long period of gradual disenchantment with his role in the franchise.
Dr. No makes him a star, Sean is quite happy with his gig as James Bond for the first years. However, problems start in the actor’s demeanor during the period in which the fourth feature in the franchise shoots. That fourth outing is 1965’s Thunderball, the most exuberant and expensive of the James Bond films up until that point. During publicity for the film, Sean says some things. It hints at him not being too keen on playing the character of James Bond for very much longer. However, there were two more films remaining in the actor’s contract.
After Sean’s attitude towards playing the James Bond character begins to sour during the filming of Thunderball. The relationship between the actor and the producers of the franchise begins to sour along with it. By the time the fifth James Bond feature was filming, producer Albert R. Broccoli had just about had it with Sean. The fifth James Bond features are You Only Live Twice. Sean’s feelings toward the James Bond character are complicated when it comes to the actor promoting the film in Japan. James Bond becomes popular in the country, and Sean is perhaps a bigger celebrity over there than he’s anywhere else.
While promoting You Only Live Twice in Japan, Sean stalks by an obsessive fan. It follows the actor into a public bathroom and pleads with him for pictures. Fans of all sorts mob Sean. The whole thing is a very negative experience for the actor in regards to his attitude towards the franchise. It is the results in Sean demanding Albert give a pay increase, something that he isn’t too keen on doing.
When Sean was denied his pay increase, his time playing the James Bond character was seemingly over. It is the results in Sean demanding Albert give a pay increase, something that he isn’t too keen on doing. The first person brought on to replace Sean was George Lazenby. He debuted as James Bond in 1969, with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The film ends as one of the most popular Bond films. It allows George to stand alongside the other Bond actors in the eyes of fans. His turn in the film being both his first and last. George is unhappy during the production of the film, and he didn’t get along with the cast and crew.
The fact that George didn’t like an ideal fit to involved in the production of the franchise. He receives an offered seven-film contract comparable to what Sean signs. However, he turned the offer down. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Subscribe to the channel if you’d like to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
It is clear that George Lazenby isn’t going to be returning for a second turn as James Bond. Albert and Harry offer Sean the chance to come back to reprise his role as the character. He did so in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, but that film proved to be Sean’s last official Bond outing. Still, he would come back to play the character of James Bond in an unofficial capacity with 1983’s Never Say Never Again. Though a different studio and other producers made the film, it has achieved cult status due to it being an outlier in the franchise, as well as for the fact that it ended up containing Sean’s last performance as the iconic spy.
In 1973, Roger Moore took over the role of James Bond and ended up occupying the role of the character until 1985. While audiences use Sean Connery as the character, they were quick to accept Roger. Roger had a charm all his own, and there are many that even consider him to be the best Bond in the franchise. Roger loved playing the character of James Bond but ended up calling it quits when he felt that he was getting too old in the face. His body could still perform the actions, but he felt somewhat ridiculous romancing young vixens on screens when he started looking wrinkled and gray during his late 50s.
Roger gives up the role of James Bond amicably and replaces by Timothy Dalton. Timothy performed in the role until License to Kill, which was the sixteenth official James Bond film. The actor comes back for one more film, but things fall through with the producers and the seventeenth James Bond film is put on hold for several years. Production on the film originally starts in 1990 but didn’t end up starting until much later in the decade. By the time that the seventeenth official film in the franchise was becoming a reality, Timothy’s contract had expired. The actor is no longer in playing the character, and the studio needs someone to fill the role.
Pierce Brosnan brings on to revitalize the franchise with GoldenEye, and the film proves to be a massive success. After the massive gap between GoldenEye’s release and Timothy Dalton’s last outing, the public was ready for more James Bond. The film offered more intense action and better special effects than the franchise had seen up until that point, though many now look back upon the Pierce Brosnan Bond films as being the corniest of the lot. Pierce ended up going out with a bang, as his last performance as James Bond was in the character’s highest-grossing film up until that point: 2003’s Die Another Day.
Like Sean Connery before him, Pierce was becoming disenchanted with the character of James Bond and only felt that continuing to act in the franchise would be worthwhile if he could get a significant pay increase. Once again, Albert turned the actor down, deciding that it was time to reinvent the franchise with a new look. Not only did the producers want to give the series a stylistic makeover in terms of the way the action and story presents, but they want to cast an actor that a little physical resemblance to any previous actor casts as James Bond.
The producers ended up going with Daniel Craig, a blonde actor that had previously gained notoriety thanks to his starring turn in the action thriller Layer Cake. Daniel debuted as the character of James Bond in Casino Royale, and has starred in five films as the character. Daniel’s most recent turn as James Bond was in the just-released No Time to Die, and the film is fully intended to be the last in the franchise to feature the actor. Due to it being his last film as James Bond, Daniel was sure to have extra input into the film’s production, guaranteeing that he had a proper sendoff as the character. The film has been received positively, and fans are anxious to see who is going to play James Bond next!
No Time to Die featured a new face in the role of 007, but only because the codename had been given to another agent. The actor that is truly going to replace Daniel Craig has yet to be announced. Many have speculated about whom might be a good candidate to replace Daniel, with Idris Elba being one of the most common names thrown around when the matter is addressed. Idris has claimed that he has no interest in playing the character, which means that him taking on the role is unlikely. Another actor that is often mentioned as a likely replacement for Daniel is Tom Hardy, who previously replaced Mel Gibson in the role of Mad Max for the film Mad Max: Fury Road.
So many actors have played the character of James Bond that it’s hard to choose which one is the best! Comment down below to share if you agree with the common consensus that Sean Connery is the most iconic James Bond, or if you feel that another actor deserves the title for the most iconic Bond so far in film history. As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
