Checked: Friday, November 6, 2026 at 5:13:49 AM GMT (United Kingdom, UTC+00:00).
Eight actors have played James Bond on screen if the count includes both released theatrical movies and the character’s first live-action television adaptation: Barry Nelson, Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. The familiar official EON film series has six lead actors; Nelson and Niven appeared in separate adaptations outside that series.
Daniel Craig’s most recent released Bond film was No Time to Die (2021). Amazon MGM Studios has not named his successor in its published casting update, which says the search is underway. Names circulating in entertainment coverage remain unconfirmed unless the studio announces a casting decision.
Here is the chronological list by each actor’s first released live-action screen portrayal. “EON films” refers to the long-running movie series produced by EON Productions; the earlier television adaptation and the 1967 Casino Royale are separate productions.
| Actor | First screen appearance as Bond | How the performance is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Barry Nelson | Casino Royale on CBS’s Climax! (1954) | One television adaptation; he played “Jimmy Bond,” an American agent. |
| Sean Connery | Dr. No (1962) | Six EON films, plus the separate 1983 film Never Say Never Again. |
| David Niven | Casino Royale (1967) | One independent comedy spoof, outside the EON series. |
| George Lazenby | On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) | One EON film. |
| Roger Moore | Live and Let Die (1973) | Seven EON films, ending with A View to a Kill (1985). |
| Timothy Dalton | The Living Daylights (1987) | Two EON films. |
| Pierce Brosnan | GoldenEye (1995) | Four EON films, through Die Another Day (2002). |
| Daniel Craig | Casino Royale (2006) | Five EON films, ending with No Time to Die (2021). |
The difference is scope. The official franchise’s familiar film line-up starts with Connery in Dr. No and names six lead actors: Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig. The official 007 site’s film-history material and its celebration of six key Bond films use that six-actor sequence. It does not erase the earlier CBS production or the 1967 film; those were distinct adaptations with different producers and approaches.
Barry Nelson’s 1954 appearance is the earliest screen version. The Paley Center’s archive lists him as James Bond in the CBS Climax! episode, while the Television Academy describes the character in that adaptation as “Jimmy Bond.” It was a television take on Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, not an EON feature film, and its Americanized agent differs from the later familiar British secret agent.
David Niven played Sir James Bond in the 1967 Casino Royale, a comedy built around a retired Bond and an absurd spy plot. The British Film Institute lists Niven among its featured cast. Because it was produced separately from EON’s film series, lists of the six EON leads often leave him out—even though he unquestionably portrayed Bond in a released movie.
Connery established the big-screen EON template with Dr. No in 1962. Lazenby took over for one film in 1969, then Connery returned to EON’s series for Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. Roger Moore’s seven-film run gave the role a lighter, more comic style, while Dalton’s two films in 1987 and 1989 presented a more severe, literary-minded spy.
Brosnan’s four films began with GoldenEye in 1995 and carried Bond into the early 2000s. Craig’s five-film tenure began with the franchise reset Casino Royale in 2006 and concluded with No Time to Die. These differences reflect the scripts, direction, and moment in which each film was made; they are useful shorthand, not a claim that every actor played a wholly separate character.
Connery and Moore each played Bond in seven theatrical movies when every released portrayal is counted. Connery made six EON films and returned in Never Say Never Again (1983), a separate production; Moore made seven EON films. If the count is limited to the official EON series, Moore has seven and Connery has six. Guinness World Records also records both actors at seven appearances, including Connery’s separate return.
There is no confirmed successor in the official studio update checked for this article. Amazon MGM Studios said in May 2026 that the search was underway and named director Denis Villeneuve, producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman, executive producer Tanya Lapointe, and writer Steven Knight, but did not identify an actor. Later candidate reports and betting-market favorites are not casting announcements. The next name belongs on this list only after an actor has actually appeared as Bond on screen.
Barry Nelson, in the 1954 CBS television adaptation of Casino Royale.
Seven actors have played Bond in released theatrical movies if the EON films, David Niven’s 1967 Casino Royale, and Connery’s Never Say Never Again are included. Add Nelson’s 1954 TV performance and the on-screen total is eight.
No official successor was named in the sources checked for this article as of the timestamp above. Treat candidate names in media reports as speculation until the studio confirms its choice.
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