{"id":97495,"date":"2026-11-04T12:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T04:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=97495"},"modified":"2026-11-04T12:17:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T04:17:00","slug":"james-bond-casting-history-how-media-covered-past-007-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=97495","title":{"rendered":"James Bond Casting History: How Media Covered Past 007 Reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cSean Connery, chosen to play Bond on the screen, had better be good.\u201d November 3 marks the 65th anniversary<\/u> of the announcement of Sean Connery\u2019s casting as the big screen\u2019s first James Bond \u2013 and it turns out people were complaining about Bond casting even then. <\/p>\n

I did a deep dive on Newspapers.com<\/u> to see how the media covered the casting of James Bond, from Sean Connery through Daniel Craig. Relatively unknown actors faced tougher scrutiny than actors like Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan who were known for playing Bond-like roles on TV shows. <\/p>\n

(Speaking of TV shows, the iconic British secret agent\u2019s first screen appearance was in an episode of the 1954 anthology TV series Climax! where the character, played by Barry Nelson, was changed to be American. Imagine if there was social media back then!)<\/p>\n

So as we wait to find out whether it\u2019s Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, Josh O\u2019Connor or someone else entirely<\/u> cast in James Bond 26<\/u>, let\u2019s take a look back on how past Bonds were reported on by the media, starting with:<\/p>\n

Sean Connery Announced November 3, 1961<\/h2>\n

One has to remember what a phenomenon James Bond was in the early 1960s. Ian Fleming\u2019s novels were bestsellers and even President John F. Kennedy made his 007 fandom known. There had been much anticipation about James Bond finally getting the big screen treatment in Dr. No \u2013 Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant even eyed it at one point \u2013so when it was announced that Scottish actor Sean Connery had won the role, the biggest response was: Who?<\/p>\n

As you can see from some of the headlines below, Connery is branded an unknown \u2013 the last time he ever would be called that as he became a global superstar thanks to the franchise. <\/p>\n

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Until Daniel Craig inherited the role and started giving his legacy a run for its memory, Connery topped (nearly) every \u201cwho is the best Bond?\u201d poll there was. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why this one reporter\u2019s jab at Connery\u2019s casting is so hilarious. It’s like the first fanboy shit post about casting. I hope he kept this quote framed on his office wall.<\/p>\n

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George Lazenby Announced October 7, 1968<\/h2>\n

As much as Connery was an unknown actor at the time he was cast as Bond, at least he was an actor. The Aussie-born Lazenby was not only unknown \u2013 he wasn\u2019t even an actor! He was a male model known for some ads so the media coverage of him having the unenviable task of following Connery emphasized his complete lack of experience and his past jobs.<\/p>\n

Lazenby infamously only made one Bond film \u2013 On Her Majesty\u2019s Secret Service \u2013 before EON Productions shelled out the big bucks to get Connery back for one more film (Diamonds Are Forever). Lazenby\u2019s ego and lack of professional experience also got the better of him during his short stint in the role, which was chronicled in the 2017 docudrama Becoming Bond<\/u>.<\/p>\n

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Roger Moore Announced August 1, 1972<\/h2>\n

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. <\/p>\n

And while the coverage was largely favorable, it\u2019s noteworthy to see the press\u2019 dismissive headlining of Moore as \u201cTV Actor\u201d (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).<\/p>\n

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Timothy Dalton Announced August 6, 1986<\/h2>\n

A Shakespearean actor as 007?! (Patrick Stewart<\/u> received similar treatment from the press when he was announced as the lead of Star Trek: The Next Generation.) Dalton had been on EON\u2019s 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\u2019s A View to a Kill. <\/p>\n

(It was supposed to be Pierce Brosnan starring in The Living Daylights but NBC wouldn\u2019t let him out of his TV contract for Remington Steele, not unlike how Tom Selleck lost out on the role of Indiana Jones<\/u>.)<\/p>\n

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This columnist bemoaned the passing of the torch from Moore to Dalton:<\/p>\n

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Dalton is mostly remembered now as a super-serious Bond closer to Ian Fleming\u2019s literary version, the antithesis of Moore\u2019s campy 007, and for only making two lukewarm Bond films. Still, Dalton\u2019s Bond walked so that Daniel Craig\u2019s Bond could run.<\/p>\n

Pierce Brosnan Announced June 8, 1994<\/h2>\n

The Bond franchise lay dormant from 1989 to 1994 as EON Productions waged a legal battle<\/u> 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 \u2013 finally \u2013 in. <\/p>\n

Brosnan had essentially spent five seasons on TV in a perpetual audition for the Bond role playing the suave (and often tuxedo-clad<\/u>) Remington Steele. By the time he was officially cast as Bond for GoldenEye, Brosnan told the press he was \u201colder\u201d and \u201cwiser\u201d for the role and didn\u2019t want the character to be as \u201cpolitically correct\u201d as Dalton\u2019s incarnation had been.<\/p>\n

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Daniel Craig Announced October 14, 2005<\/h2>\n

Blond, James Blond. That\u2019s how almost every headline went \u2013 including my own when I reported on Craig\u2019s casting for IGN back in 2005<\/u> \u2013 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).<\/p>\n

\u201cJames Blond\u201d was soon swapped out for \u201cJames Bland\u201d in tabloid headlines bashing the English actor\u2019s casting. There was even a fan site dedicated to hating on Craig\u2019s casting, CraigNotBond.com<\/u> \u2013 which still exists to this day, five years after Craig exited the franchise with No Time to Die!<\/p>\n

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Of course, Craig largely won over the haters with his debut performance as 007 in 2006\u2019s Casino Royale, bringing a wounded humanity to the role that distinguished him from his predecessors. It\u2019s hard to believe now that \u201cJames Bland\u201d was the longest-running Bond actor, leading the franchise for 15 years.<\/p>\n

Whoever follows in Craig\u2019s footsteps will undoubtedly face their own share of backlash \u2013 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<\/u> \u2013 but they will be hard pressed to bear the wrath that Daniel Craig did.<\/p>\n

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Jim Vejvoda (he\/him) is IGN’s Assoc. Director of Entertainment Content.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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