Every single James Bond actor has had a difficult relationship with the role. Landing Bond was a mixed blessing for Sean Connery, and Daniel Craig had an infamously tough time adjusting to his status as 007. Though he’s remembered for delivering a more light-hearted take on the character, Roger Moore had his own struggles with playing England’s greatest spy.

Advertisement

We know that Moore’s least favorite Bond movie is one of his own: 1985’s “A View to a Kill.” At the time, Moore was 57 years old and felt as if he’d long since aged out of the role, especially since his Bond was required to sleep with Grace Jones’ 37-year-old May Day. The actor also disdained the level of violence in “A View to a Kill” lamenting the way in which Christopher Walken’s Max Zorin slaughtered entire crowds with his machine gun. But Moore’s uneasiness extended beyond one last outing in the tux. The British star was uncomfortable with some major aspects of the 007 franchise from the very beginning, revealing in his 2008 memoir “My Word is My Bond,” that he had a phobia of guns which he developed during his time in National Service.

Advertisement

It might seem odd for a man who made his name playing James Bond to be so averse to firearms, but this is, in many ways, the story of so many Bond actors. Craig, for instance, tried to sabotage his first James Bond meeting because he was uncomfortable with the idea of playing the role. Still, Moore was clearly able to compartmentalize his own feelings about guns in order to portray 007 effectively. What’s more, he seemed to value the violent nature of Bond as one of the most important aspects of his character even with his own aversion to guns — as his picks for the best 007 actors reveal.

In 2006, “Casino Royale” debuted, introducing audiences to a new 007 in the form of Daniel Craig’s tortured bruiser. This was as close to a full reboot as the Bond movies ever got. Longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (who recently sold off the Bond franchise to Amazon) gave director Martin Campbell permission to reinvent 007 for a post-9/11, post-“Bourne Identity” world that seemed to value that ineffable quality then dubbed “grittiness.”

Advertisement

Craig’s first outing was a brilliant retooling of the Bond saga, which had almost been ended by the previous entry, “Die Another Day.” Clearly, the new Bond actor had quite an impact on Roger Moore, too, who by 2012 was ready to proclaim him the finest actor to ever play Bond — an interesting development considering the Craig era was one of the most viscerally violent in franchise history.

In a 2012 interview with Moore at NBC News, the outlet noted that he had previously praised Sean Connery as the finest Bond, but that he seemed to change his mind after seeing Craig’s movies. At the time “Skyfall” had just debuted, and it seemed Moore was one of the film’s biggest fans. “If I had been able to see ‘Skyfall’ before finishing [my autobiography],” he said, “I would have then had to have written a chapter about Daniel Craig, who is a superb Bond.”

Advertisement

As far as Moore saw it, with “Skyfall” Craig had “guaranteed another 50 years for the franchise,” with the veteran star going on to praise his successor’s performances in “Casino Royale” and its follow up, “Quantum of Solace.” But it seems, like every Bond fan, Moore also retained a soft spot for Connery.

In 2016, four years after the release of “Skyfall,” Roger Moore was asked who he thought was the best Bond actor during a live event (via The Scotsman). “I think that Sean was obviously the great Bond,” replied Moore, adding: “He was obviously the right person, he brought the right personality to the performance, otherwise Bond would not have gone on past the first six that he did. He was a tremendous Bond.”

Advertisement

Still, Moore clearly maintained his affection for Craig, adding that modern audiences were “lucky” to have the actor in the role, and commending him as “quite extraordinary.” Moore continued, “I always say that Sean looked like a killer — but Daniel Craig would finish it off.”

For a man who seemed perennially uncomfortable with Bond’s more violent proclivities, then, Moore certainly seemed to value 007’s ruthlessness as being key to his character. Perhaps that’s a compliment to Moore’s own abilities as an actor. He was clearly able to put his personal views to the side in order to bring audiences the Bond they expected, and certainly never gave the impression on-screen that he was uneasy about toting the Walther PPK. Heck, he even borrowed a policeman’s gun for some of the promo photos.

Advertisement