James Bond Casting History: How Media Covered Past 007 Reveals

Roger Moore Announced August 1, 1972

No one had to ask who Roger Moore was when he was announced as the third 007 actor. Internationally known for his roles on The Saint, The Persuaders and Maverick, Moore was the most famous actor who had been cast as 007 at that point.

And while the coverage was largely favorable, it’s noteworthy to see the press’ dismissive headlining of Moore as “TV Actor” (the gulf between being a film actor and a TV actor persisted until HBO and the streamers made it professionally acceptable to work in both mediums).

Timothy Dalton Announced August 6, 1986

A Shakespearean actor as 007?! (Patrick Stewart received similar treatment from the press when he was announced as the lead of Star Trek: The Next Generation.) Dalton had been on EON’s radar as far back as Live and Let Die. By the time he finally accepted the role, Welshman Dalton had to follow Roger Moore, who had been playing James Bond for 12 years until he hung up his tux with 1985’s A View to a Kill.

(It was supposed to be Pierce Brosnan starring in The Living Daylights but NBC wouldn’t let him out of his TV contract for Remington Steele, not unlike how Tom Selleck lost out on the role of Indiana Jones.)

This columnist bemoaned the passing of the torch from Moore to Dalton:

Dalton is mostly remembered now as a super-serious Bond closer to Ian Fleming’s literary version, the antithesis of Moore’s campy 007, and for only making two lukewarm Bond films. Still, Dalton’s Bond walked so that Daniel Craig’s Bond could run.

Pierce Brosnan Announced June 8, 1994

The Bond franchise lay dormant from 1989 to 1994 as EON Productions waged a legal battle over screen rights with a producer who collaborated on the novel for Thunderball. Once production could pick back up, Dalton was out and Irishman Brosnan was – finally – in.

Brosnan had essentially spent five seasons on TV in a perpetual audition for the Bond role playing the suave (and often tuxedo-clad) Remington Steele. By the time he was officially cast as Bond for GoldenEye, Brosnan told the press he was “older” and “wiser” for the role and didn’t want the character to be as “politically correct” as Dalton’s incarnation had been.

Daniel Craig Announced October 14, 2005

Blond, James Blond. That’s how almost every headline went – including my own when I reported on Craig’s casting for IGN back in 2005 – followed by a deluge of criticism over his casting, the likes of which had not been seen since Michael Keaton was cast as Batman (and, to a lesser degree, Tom Cruise as Lestat).

“James Blond” was soon swapped out for “James Bland” in tabloid headlines bashing the English actor’s casting. There was even a fan site dedicated to hating on Craig’s casting, CraigNotBond.com – which still exists to this day, five years after Craig exited the franchise with No Time to Die!

Of course, Craig largely won over the haters with his debut performance as 007 in 2006’s Casino Royale, bringing a wounded humanity to the role that distinguished him from his predecessors. It’s hard to believe now that “James Bland” was the longest-running Bond actor, leading the franchise for 15 years.

Whoever follows in Craig’s footsteps will undoubtedly face their own share of backlash – just a cursory glance at social media confirms 007 fans have their fierce opinions on contenders like Turner and Lowden and the oft-rumored Jacob Elordi – but they will be hard pressed to bear the wrath that Daniel Craig did.

Jim Vejvoda (he/him) is IGN’s Assoc. Director of Entertainment Content.