SEAN CONNERY
• Serious – Bond gets the jump on R.J. Dent and casually interrogates him until it’s assassination time whereupon he coolly and efficiently does the deed. (DN)
Bond is strapped to the table as a castrating laser inexorably inches towards his groin, yet despite being noticeably uneasy with his predicament, he nevertheless manages to plant enough seeds of doubt to get Auric Goldfinger to spare him and keep him as his prisoner. (G)
• Light – Bond out-cheats Goldfinger on the golf course and informs the billionaire that he must have played the wrong ball on the fairway and thus lost their match. As Goldfinger slams the ball down and storms off, Connery allows an amused, winning grin to form on his face. (G)
While battling Emilio Largo at the gaming table, 007 keeps winning, which makes Largo declare that he looks unbeatable. Connery merely waves his hand as if to say, “this happens to me all the time.” (T)
GEORGE LAZENBY
• Serious – As he realizes his new bride has just been assassinated with a bullet was meant for him, Bond slowly falls to pieces. Lazenby’s crowning achievement. (OHMSS)
• Light – As he waits for his safecracker/photocopier gadget do its thing, a bored Bond peruses Gebruder Gumbold’s reading material until he comes across something that catches his eye. A knowing smirk followed by the revelation of the recent edition of Playboy Magazine. Bond pauses in his reading to finish his mission and then caps it off by removing the centerfold. Lazenby is still admiring the photo when sounds of the workers arriving back from lunch hit his ears and he quickly puts it away. (OHMSS)
ROGER MOORE
• Serious – Bond plainly and honestly answers Anya Amasova’s question about whether he killed her lover. He doesn’t deny it, mince words, or make excuses. He simply lays it out matter-of-factly. It is arguably Moore’s best acting scene in the series. (TSWLM)
Bond confronts Orlov on the train. One can see the wheels turning as Bond begins to understand the scope of Orlov’s and Kamal Khan’s plans. And I love how upset Moore is with the scheme and his determination to halt it. I love how he says, “On your feet General. You’re going to stop that train…You can stop it at the border!” (O)
• Light – Bond notices a poisonous snake crawling toward him and he cleverly turns his aerosol aftershave into a flame thrower aided by his cigar. After dispatching of the snake, he merely shrugs and then nonchalantly sprays some aftershave into his hand to apply to his face as if nothing had happened. Classically cool 007. (LALD)
Bond ups the ante on his backgammon game with Khan and then, like in Goldfinger, manages to out-cheat the cheater. Then, while gazing straight at Khan and without looking at the dice, he knows and calls the outcome–“Double sixes. Fancy that.” Another great Bondian moment. (O)
TIMOTHY DALTON
• Serious – Bond welcomes being fired for disobeying orders and not killing the inexperienced sniper while also allowing a subtle smirk of amusement at his having scared her. Nicely done. (TLD)
• Light – Bond, all business, interrupts Linda’s phone call on her yacht to alert exercise control of his situation, only to be quickly convinced to put off his reporting for an extra hour, which allows him time to sample Linda’s hospitality. Probably Dalton’s best delivered one-liner in the series. (TLD)
PIERCE BROSNAN
• Serious – A melancholy Bond waits in his hotel room with a bottle of vodka for a Carver goon, only to be surprised by Paris Carver’s entrance. Bond continues drinking as he and Paris reminisce over the past before rekindling their passion. (TND)
Bond chases down Elektra King and, at gunpoint, demands she call off Renard’s mission. She challenges his ability to kill her, believing he loves her too much to stop her. But Bond calls her bluff and instantly shoots her in perhaps the coldest kill since Bond assassinated Dent in Dr. No. (TWINE)
• Light – While undergoing an evaluation with Caroline in his DB5, Bond races and flirts with Xenia in her Ferrari on the twisty, winding roads of the French Riviera. Brosnan is clearly enjoying himself in this scene. (G/E)
After escaping from a British warship, Bond swims ashore on Hong Kong harbor and, dripping and hirsute, dressed only in pajamas, confidently walks into a swanky hotel and casks for his usual suite. Only Bond–and Brosnan sells it perfectly. (DAD)
DANIEL CRAIG
• Serious – Bond gets the drop on Dryden and calmly allows him to reveal his being a traitor before effortlessly executing him. Great introduction. (CR)
Bond gives sound advice to Camille Montes about killing her sworn enemy before they infiltrate Quantum’s meeting with Luiz Medrano. (QOS)
• Light – Bond reveals Vesper Lynd’s humorous alias during their drive to the Hotel Splendide. That, and his response to her reaction is probably Craig at his most easy-going and funny. It is the closest he ever came to the series’ humor before his tenure. (CR)
And Bond not happy with the slummy conditions of Strawberry Fields’ hotel accommodations, pulls an audible and reroutes them to an upscale hotel where he announces with a twinkle in his eye to the concierge that they are school teachers on holiday after having won the lottery. (QOS)