Every James Bond Movie Actor Ranked Worst To Best

The late, great, Oscar-winning Sir Sean Connery was the first actor to play Bond in the mainline series, setting a high bar as superspy James Bond every subsequent actor would have to work impossibly hard to surpass or even match.

With a level of sophistication and easy charm that shines from his very first scene, Connery simply oozed cool throughout his tenure as 007 (including the unofficial flick Never Say Never Again, released some twenty-one years after his Dr. No debut), wearing the suit and vices of Bond like a natural.

Sure, there's less grit and vulnerability in his performance than with his successors, and some of the questionable writing makes his Bond occasionally uncomfortable to watch these days, but none of that really matters overall.

Whether he was elegantly lighting a cigarette, utilising a jetpack, battling nameless red shirts underwater or facing off with archnemesis Blofeld, Connery was an absolute blast to watch as 007, and fit so effortlessly into the role it's no wonder why the Bond series has become one of cinema's defining franchises.