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Best Actor To Ever Appear in a Bond film.

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  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,967
    Officially, I'm not sure, there are a lot of choices, but unofficially these days, I'd absolutely choose Max Von Sydow.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,249
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    Can't help adding Gert Fröbe. Brilliant and versatile actor.


    Also IMO still the best Bond villain ever.

    This. I've been told beeing a good comedy actor makes you one of the best by default, as it's one of the hardest things to do. Seeing him in 'those magnificent men in their flying machines' puts him up there immediately..
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,617
    CommanderRoss wrote: »
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    Can't help adding Gert Fröbe. Brilliant and versatile actor.


    Also IMO still the best Bond villain ever.

    This. I've been told beeing a good comedy actor makes you one of the best by default, as it's one of the hardest things to do. Seeing him in 'those magnificent men in their flying machines' puts him up there immediately..

    To bad Fröbe was never a comic book/superhero villain. He would have fit in on Batman 66.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,110
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Officially, I'm not sure, there are a lot of choices, but unofficially these days, I'd absolutely choose Max Von Sydow.

    Quite right. It might not be desirable to grant NSNA such a highly esteemed price over the official entries, but with Max von Sydow being the protagonist in so many Ingmar Bergman masterpieces you can hardly decide otherwise.
  • SeanCraigSeanCraig Germany
    Posts: 732
    Diana Rigg
    Dame Judi Dench
    Mads Mikkelsen
    Gert Fröbe
  • QQ7QQ7 Croatia
    Posts: 371
    Max von Sydow - hard to beat concerning all of the work that he has done with Bergman

    Gabriele Ferzetti - great Italian actor, "L'Avventura" is one of the cinema peaks

    Ralph Fiennes - always considered him as one of the best Hollywood actors
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    Daniel Craig as Geordie Peacock in Our Friends In The North needs a mention.

    I'm sure the Craig detractors will snort but I can't think of a more immersive and brilliant performance of any other actor to play Bond.

    Yes of course there are better actors in Bond films but Connery, Moore, Dalton will struggle to top that.

  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    Christopher walken
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,269
    Louis Jourdan was a very fine actor indeed.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Robert Shaw, Benicio Del Toro, Albert Finney, Daniel Craig.
  • DeerAtTheGatesDeerAtTheGates Belgium
    Posts: 524
    Can't forget Dame Judi Dench, who's always riveting in anything she does.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,249
    Dame Judi is indeed a very good actor. I can't remember the name of the film but she plays a woman who as a girl had her baby taken away by nuns. A fantastic performance.
    Daniel Craig in defiance.

    All I can say is with 25 bond films an increadable amount of talent has graced the screens
  • RoadphillRoadphill United Kingdom
    Posts: 984
    Surely Christopher Walken and Robert Shaw?
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    edited August 2020 Posts: 2,148
    I will list the outstanding performance(s) from each film (sometimes not necessarily delivered by the ‘best’ actor/actress) and then pick the winner.
    DN - Joseph Wiseman
    FRWL - Robert Shaw
    GF - Gert Frobe tied with Harold Sakata
    TB - Sean Connery
    YOLT - Donald Pleasance
    OHMSS - Diana Rigg tied with Telly Savalas
    DAF - Bruce Glover & Putter Smith
    LALD - Yaphet Kotto
    TMWTGG - Christopher Lee
    TSWLM - Richard Kiel
    MR - Michael Lonsdale
    FYEO - Topol
    OP - Louis Jourdan
    NSNA - Klaus Maria Brandauer
    AVTAK - Christopher Walken
    TLD - John Rhys-Davies
    LTK - Robert Davi
    GE - Famke Janssen
    TND - Jonathan Pryce
    TWINE - Robert Carlyle
    DAD - Rosamund Pyke
    CR - Mads Mikkelsen
    QOS - Daniel Craig
    SF - Judi Dench
    SP - Christoph Waltz

    Generally speaking, Connery, Lazenby and Dalton’s films benefitted from very strong supporting casts which accounts in no small part for their being usually regarded as top shelf Bond movies.
    A lot of worthy thespians and memorable performances but the one that stands above everyone else IMO is Robert Shaw as Red Grant.
    He gives an absolutely captivating performance (silent for most of the film) and is to date the ONLY actor who managed to steal a movie from Connery who was in very fine form on his second outing as 007.
    The top henchman par excellence who set the standard for all heavies that followed and to this day is still unmatched.
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    Posts: 2,148
    Speaking of which, happy 93rd birthday Mr. Robert Shaw (August 9, 1927)
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,287
    Giancarlo Giannini is up there.
  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    edited August 2020 Posts: 17,753
    echo wrote: »
    Giancarlo Giannini is up there.

    Definitely. Great actor.
  • GeneralGogolGeneralGogol
    Posts: 928
    For reference, here's the list of actors who've been nominated or won (bolded) an acting Oscar - half these actors starred in CR'67.

    David Niven*
    Albert Finney
    Angelica Huston*
    Benicio Del Toro
    Charles Boyer*
    Christoph Waltz
    Christopher Walken
    Deborah Kerr*
    Giancarlo Giannini
    Halle Berry
    Javier Bardem
    John Huston*
    Judi Dench
    Kim Basinger*
    Klaus Maria Brandauer*
    Lotte Lenya
    Max von Sydow*
    Orson Welles*
    Peter O'Toole*
    Peter Sellers*
    Ralph Fiennes
    Robert Shaw
    Sean Connery
    Telly Savalas
    Topol
    William Holden*
    Woody Allen*

    From this list, I'd say Judi Dench is the best actor to appear in a Bond film, official or unofficial. Caveat being, I haven't seen that many films with some of the other actors (e.g. Boyer, Finney, Kerr, Lenya, Holden, Topol).
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,172
    Clearly, the best actor to appear in a Bond film is Victor Tourjanski. ;-)
  • jobojobo
    Posts: 7,507
    Clearly the best actor to feature in a Bond film is Michael G Wilson!
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,110
    GeneralGogol wrote: »
    For reference, here's the list of actors who've been nominated or won (bolded) an acting Oscar - half these actors starred in CR'67.

    David Niven*
    Albert Finney
    Angelica Huston*
    Benicio Del Toro
    Charles Boyer*
    Christoph Waltz
    Christopher Walken
    Deborah Kerr*
    Giancarlo Giannini
    Halle Berry
    Javier Bardem
    John Huston*
    Judi Dench
    Kim Basinger*
    Klaus Maria Brandauer*
    Lotte Lenya
    Max von Sydow*
    Orson Welles*
    Peter O'Toole*
    Peter Sellers*
    Ralph Fiennes
    Robert Shaw
    Sean Connery
    Telly Savalas
    Topol
    William Holden*
    Woody Allen*

    From this list, I'd say Judi Dench is the best actor to appear in a Bond film, official or unofficial. Caveat being, I haven't seen that many films with some of the other actors (e.g. Boyer, Finney, Kerr, Lenya, Holden, Topol).

    A fascinating list. The non-Eon Bonds might not be in the same league as many of the EON Bonds, but one thing they did both manage was an otherworldly cast.
  • TorgeirtrapTorgeirtrap
    edited August 2020 Posts: 17,753
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Officially, I'm not sure, there are a lot of choices, but unofficially these days, I'd absolutely choose Max Von Sydow.

    Although several actors and actresses deserves a mention, Max von Sydow stands out for me too.
  • UnivexUnivex
    Posts: 6,709
    Torgeirtrap wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Officially, I'm not sure, there are a lot of choices, but unofficially these days, I'd absolutely choose Max Von Sydow.
    Although several actors and actresses deserves a mention, Max von Sydow stands out for me too.
    Absolutely.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,110
    Univex wrote: »
    Torgeirtrap wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Officially, I'm not sure, there are a lot of choices, but unofficially these days, I'd absolutely choose Max Von Sydow.
    Although several actors and actresses deserves a mention, Max von Sydow stands out for me too.
    Absolutely.

    Definitely.
  • ThunderballThunderball playing Chemin de Fer in a casino, downing Vespers
    Posts: 814
    Dalton and Connery were the very best actors to play Bond. Particularly Dalton, I really appreciate his seriousness in taking on the role, his desire to bring it all back to the Fleming roots. I’ve heard constantly from great actors in interviews that preparation for a part is very important, and for Dalton it payed big dividends.

    As for everyone else, well:

    Dame Diana Rigg
    Dame Judi Dench
    Christopher Lee
    Robert Shaw
    Javier Bardem
    John Rhys-Davies
    Ralph Fiennes
    Christoph Waltz
    Donald Pleasance
    Telly Savales

    Dalton and Rigg are two actors whom I really feel bad about not seeing them in more things and so I will remedy that very soon.
  • 007InAction007InAction Australia
    Posts: 2,526
    Giancarlo Giannini on “Catch-22”, George Clooney, and Cinema
    giancarlo_giannini0_0.jpg
    https://www.goldenglobes.com/articles/giancarlo-giannini-catch-22-george-clooney-and-cinema
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,617
    Thunderball wrote: »
    Dalton and Connery were the very best actors to play Bond. Particularly Dalton, I really appreciate his seriousness in taking on the role, his desire to bring it all back to the Fleming roots. I’ve heard constantly from great actors in interviews that preparation for a part is very important, and for Dalton it payed big dividends.

    As for everyone else, well:

    Dame Diana Rigg
    Dame Judi Dench
    Christopher Lee
    Robert Shaw
    Javier Bardem
    John Rhys-Davies
    Ralph Fiennes
    Christoph Waltz
    Donald Pleasance
    Telly Savales

    Dalton and Rigg are two actors whom I really feel bad about not seeing them in more things and so I will remedy that very soon.

    I agree with you, but add a few more, namely Christopher Walken.
  • ThunderballThunderball playing Chemin de Fer in a casino, downing Vespers
    Posts: 814
    Walken is quite good. I like him in some things, less in others. Like Halle Berry, actually, who is awful in DAD.
  • jobojobo
    Posts: 7,507
    Thunderball wrote: »
    Dalton and Connery were the very best actors to play Bond. Particularly Dalton, I really appreciate his seriousness in taking on the role, his desire to bring it all back to the Fleming roots. I’ve heard constantly from great actors in interviews that preparation for a part is very important, and for Dalton it payed big dividends.

    As for everyone else, well:

    Dame Diana Rigg
    Dame Judi Dench
    Christopher Lee
    Robert Shaw
    Javier Bardem
    John Rhys-Davies
    Ralph Fiennes
    Christoph Waltz
    Donald Pleasance
    Telly Savales

    Dalton and Rigg are two actors whom I really feel bad about not seeing them in more things and so I will remedy that very soon.

    Good list, but Ben Wishaw deserves a mention.
  • WillyGalore_ReduxWillyGalore_Redux I like my beer cold, my TV loud and my homosexuals flaaaaaaming
    Posts: 294
    Robert Shaw is one of my very favourite actors. He just dominated the screen.
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