All 6 James Bond Actors Ranked

The original on-screen Bond, the one who set the bar for everyone since.

It has been almost six full decades since Sean Connery first embodied James Bond for 1962's Dr No. In doing so, he secured both his career as an actor and what would become the longest-running film franchise in cinematic history.

Sean Connery's Bond is iconic. For six films (seven, including 1983's unofficial Never Say Never Again) he became the agent, portraying the character for a generation.

There is no doubt that Sean Connery formed part of Agent 007's immense appeal and, although fans later had to accustom themselves to a different actor every few years, at the height of Bond's 1960s popularity, nobody could have imagined anybody but Connery in the role. Indeed, when George Lazenby made his singular outing as the spy in 1969, he was negatively received by fans who wanted Connery back. Their wish was granted, for better or for worse, with 1971's Diamonds Are Forever.

Though the fans loved him, Connery himself wasn't overly enthusiastic about the character, looking very bored for the entirety of 1967's You Only Live Twice, very reluctantly returning for Diamonds Are Forever after he was paid a record-breaking sum of money for the film, and returning to the role in desperation for Never Say Never Again.

Especially in the 1960s, when it was uncommon for an actor to play one role so many times, one could see the difficulty of Connery's position.

In spite of his later demur, Connery was iconic as the original Bond and a pleasure to watch onscreen.