Which actor has starred in the most James Bond movies ever?
27 films in and counting, the James Bond franchise doesn’t show any sign of stopping. Actor Daniel Craig, widely considered by many as the greatest ever Bond, might just have turned in his MI6 pass and the keys to his Aston Martin, but there’s plenty more to come from 007.
Craig starred as the central character with a licence to kill in five different Bond movies, but he’s far from the most prolific actor in the history of the series.
The very first man to play James Bond has two more Bond films to his name than Craig, even if one of those was made by a rival company that owns the rights to the main movie franchise, Eon Productions. Sean Connery began his tenure as Bond in the character’s 1962 on-screen debut, Dr. No, and his final appearance was over two decades later, in Never Say Never Again.
In between, however, another actor took over the role of Eon’s preferred Bond. Roger Moore still holds the record for the most appearances as James Bond in movies produced by Eon. His total of seven equals Connery’s overall number of appearances, putting him one ahead of the Scotsman in the official Bond canon.
Aside from Craig, no other actor even gets close to these two heavyweights in terms of big-screen appearances as 007. But the question we’re answering here isn’t just who’s starred as James Bond the most times. It’s who’s starred in the most Bond movies.
So, which other actors have featured in more movies?
On that front, there are four actors whose stints in the Bond series put even Connery and Moore in the shade. Judi Dench, for one, appeared in eight films as MI6 chief M between 1995’s Goldeneye and 2012’s Skyfall, in which her character is killed off. The Dench era spans the entirety of Pierce Brosnan’s iteration of 007 and more than half of Craig’s.
The actor who laid the blueprint for her role, Bernard Lee, starred as M even more times, playing the part in 11 Bond movies between the start of the series and 1979’s Moonraker. He’s upstaged by an even longer-serving performer, though, in the form of his secretary, Miss Moneypenny. Original Moneypenny star Lois Maxwell featured in every single Bond film between Dr No and A View to Kill in 1985, a considerable 14 performances across 23 years.
Yet neither Lee nor Maxwell could compare to the undisputed stalwart of MI6. Desmond Llewelyn may not have made it into Bond’s big screen debut, but he made himself a permanent fixture in the second film of the series. He played gadget expert Q in every single Eon-produced Bond movie between From Russia with Love and The World Is Not Enough, when his character was replaced by John Cleese’s younger version in the specialist MI6 post-mid-film. That’s a total of 17 starring roles in 36 years, an output without equal among all Bond actors.
In a twist of tragic irony, Llewelyn was killed in a car accident in the months immediately following his retirement from starring in Bond movies. His legacy was already cemented, nonetheless, as an integral part of the 007 cast throughout the 20th century.
Which actor will take on the role of James Bond next?
It is a question as old as the series itself. The constant need to know who will be donning the fables suit and cufflinks and ordering their martini shaken and not stirred is part of the cinematic lexicon. Now, as Bond has been purchased by Amazon, the need to have a clear direction for Britain’s secret weapon is more necessary than ever.
For a long time, actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson had been lined up as perhaps the perfect iteration of Bond. But ask your nearest and dearest, and there is a chance that they will have a different opinion. Henry Cavill might look exactly like Bond fan fiction, but he is seemingly ageing out of the role, while youngster Callum Turner has become the latest frontrunner with some recent star turns gaining welcomed attention. Whoever it is will have big shoes to fill.
