Throughout an illustrious 63-year history that consists of 25 Eon-produced films, theJames Bondfranchise has seen six actors play the titular MI6 agent, each of them bringing unique qualities to the role. The consensus states thatSir Sean Connery, the first and, in many ways, the defining 007, is the greatest. However, while public opinion is largely accepting of the notion thatDaniel Craigalso ranks highly among the Bonds, a compelling case can be mounted to suggest he is the outright best.
Buoyed by his involvement in pictures that saw the franchise dramatically evolve for the tastes of the 21st century, Daniel Craig’s brilliant portrayal of 007 is enabled to be the boldest, most violent, and most vulnerable realization of Ian Fleming’s famous character ever put to screen. This seismic shift in tone, coupled perfectly with Craig’s decisions in the role to make for the greatest James Bond of all time.This list will offer ten compelling reasons why Daniel Craig is the best actor to ever play 007. You can agree or disagree, of course, but one thing is undeniable: Craig’s place in cinematic history is all but ensured.
10He Is the Grittiest 007.
The coarser tone of his Bond imbues the character with brilliant depth and intrigue.
The most obvious aspect of Craig’s portrayal of Bond that distinguishes him from his predecessors is the coarseness and darkness that he imbues the character with.Present from the opening moments ofCasino Royale, Craig’s steely demeanor and cold-blooded ruthlessness are in stark contrast to the more charming and charismatic Bonds that preceded him. Not only does this decisive shift make an immediate impression, but it also imbues his Bond with far more dramatic depth and complexity.
The byproduct of this creative decision is that it allows Craig’s iteration of 007 to venture into uncharted territory. While the suave style and the wry wit remain,there is a simmering anger boiling beneath them, a detail that Craig exhibits in absorbing fashion without ever seeing it engulf the character’s slickness entirely. It makes forthe most challenging and engaging version of Bondthat audiences have ever seen, and goes a long way to solidifying him as the best Bond as well.
Casino Royale
9He Saved the Franchise.
Before Daniel Craig, the Bond franchise was on a downward spiral towards irrelevancy.
Connery’s Bond established the franchise while SirRoger Moore’s proved it could have continual success, and others since have shown it can be adapted to suit different styles, butDaniel Craig’s era rescued the saga from the clutches of obscurity. While the grit of the character and the story, the grounded approach to the spectacle, and the drastic shift in tone and style have been addressed, it can’t be overstated how integral these creative decisions were in rejuvenating the franchise and ensuring it appealed to today’s audiences.
Whereas the end ofPierce Brosnan’s era was largely dismissed as a jarring and cringeworthy effort to replicate the light and campy tone of the franchise’s earliest installments, Craig’s tenure thundered into immediate relevance, entrancing modern audiences from the outset. Daniel Craig’s five Bond filmsearned almost $4 billion between them, seeingthe franchise soar back into mainstream consciousnessas a spearhead of blockbuster cinema.
8The Quality of His Movies.
Overall, Craig’s Bond movies are the best.
While it shouldn’t be as big of a factor as it is, the fact of the matter is,James Bond actors are more fondly remembered if the films they appear in are of a higher quality. After all, Pierce Brosnan is an impeccable 007, yet he is very seldom regarded as being among the absolute greatest actors in the role because of the diminishing returns of his tenure.Daniel Craig was befallen by no such issue. In fact, his movies as a whole make up the best of the Bond actors.
Casino RoyaleandSkyfallstand comfortably among the best spy thrillers ever released and the greatest blockbusters of the century.No Time to Dieis the boldest, most emotional, and conclusive film in the franchise, while even the supposed misfires inQuantum of SolaceandSpectreoffer unique and entertaining aspects that make them far from the worst pictures in the Bond saga. Admittedly, Connery’s era can mount a strong case for containing the best movies, but the latter part of his tenure saw a rapid decline in quality that became awkward and, at worst, outright laughable.
7He Is by Far the Best Bond in Terms of Action Sequences.
No other Bond can match Craig in terms of combat.
A byproduct of the evolution of cinema has been the ever-advancing possibilities afforded to action cinema. The Bond franchise serves as something of an ongoing showpiece of this progression over the decades, ranging from the simplistic yet stilted sequences of Connery’s and Moore’s eras to the excess ofTimothy Dalton’s and Brosnan’s tenures. Understandably,Daniel Craig’s efforts with regard to pure action spectaclehave beenthe most astonishing and death-defyingthe franchise has seen.
Like the re-evaluation of the character himself, the action of Craig’s Bond films eschews the camp overtones and heightened surrealism that had infiltrated the series in favor of a more grounded and believable approach.The intense physicality and palpable grit of the practical set piecesare one of the Craig era’s most defining aspects. It also excels as it always presents an engaging and suspenseful display that is in service to the story and revealing of the character, rather than a flashy distraction.
6His Balance of Tone is Impeccable.
Gritty drama, slick comedy, or suave sophistication; Craig’s Bond can do it all.
While Craig will be famous for the grit, intensity, and drama he brought to the role, it can’t be overlooked how he was still able to execute the character’s lighter, more sophisticated, and even wryly comical traits as well. Through complex character design that uses an icy and dismissive predisposition as a veneer for deep-rooted angst and insecurities, Craig’s Bond findstremendous depth and drama in his rawest and most confronting momentsas well as his most humorous and slickest.
The result isthe most dynamic and well-rounded portrayal of Bondthat audiences have ever seen — even the romantic beats are realized with a sincerity and weight that few before him have matched. Craig excels at bringing this nuance to life, while the creative minds behind the drastic shift and expansion in the characterization make bold and admirable calls. It all strikes a perfect middle ground between bringing new depth to the character and maintaining the dapper charm that has always defined him.
5Accuracy as an Adaptation.
Craig’s Bond is most like the 007 from Ian Fleming’s novels.
Throughout the Bond franchise, the character has been depicted as everything from a sly and suave spy to a vindictive and vengeful rogue, and even as a wise-cracking comic played for laughs. Naturally, not all of these iterations strive to resemblethe character presented in Ian Fleming’s novels, and while portrayals byTimothy Daltonand Sir Sean Connery have been faithful to Fleming’s source material,Daniel Craig is arguably the most like the author’s original visionin its entirety.
His balance of stylish sophistication and simmering anger comes directly from the source material, with hiscoarse and cynical depiction inCasino Royaleparticularly accuratein this regard. Naturally, there are necessary deviations from Fleming’s books, due to both the films’ modernization of the material and their endeavor to expose a more vulnerable and sensitively human side of Bond. Still, in a broad tonal sense, Daniel Craig is the perfect James Bond.
4He is the Least Chauvinistic Bond.
The Bond girls aren’t treated as mere objects in Craig’s era.
Granted, this isn’t a high bar, and Craig’s 007 doesn’t exactly clear it with flying colors, but his tenure as James Bond does make a concerted effort toreduce the materialistic shallowness of his relationships with womenwhile maintainingthe lavish appeal of “the Bond girl” throughout. The shift is most prevalent inCasino Royale, through Bond’s romance with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), and then inSpectreandNo Time to Die, withLéa Seydoux’s Madeleine becoming the first major recurring Bond girl in the franchise’s history.
The relationship between Bond and Lynd inCasino Royaleis one of the film’s most underrated aspects, culminating in a tragic conclusion that only deepens Bond’s vulnerabilities. The introduction of Madeleine Swann inSpectreprovides another true and touching romance that proves to be the most defining for Craig’s Bond inNo Time to Die. Ultimately, the Bond franchise isn’t necessarily a highlight of female representation in cinema, but the inroads made throughout Craig’s era are enlightened, important, and mature enoughnot to submit to anachronistic misogyny in the name of traditionalism.
3His Physicality and Brutishness Make Bond a Formidable Force.
Daniel Craig’s 007 is a spy you do not want to mess with.
One of the most defining aspects of every actor’s Bond is the manner in which they overcome the obstacles in their way. Connery is stealthy and resourceful, Sir Roger Moorepragmatic and unflappable, and someone like Timothy Daltonis volatile and explosive. Daniel Craig gets the upper hand on his adversaries through his marriage ofinnovative dare, aggressive physicality, and spiteful brutality, a combination that is suited perfectly to his films’ grittier tone.
As a result, Craig’s Bond is less of an agent of stealth or a quick-thinking and ever-composed problem-solver and more ofa relentless force of nature, an unstoppable one-man armywho will fight, scrap, shoot, and stab his way to his mission’s success. Of course, there are still moments of style and even comedic levity incorporated into the action sequences, but his formidable resolve and combative instincts make him the greatest action hero the Bond franchise has ever seen.
2He Has the Best Character Development.
His portrayal of Bond evolves over his five movies.
A huge reason for Craig being the best James Bond is that the films he appeared in bestowed him with creative luxuries that simply weren’t attainable for any of his predecessors. Paramount in this regard isthe distinct narrative continuity of his movies. Whereas other Bond actors have been able to largely rehash their strengths as their stories refresh between films,Craig is challenged to continuously evolve his character over five movies.
This character development is always compelling to watch. It all comes to a beautifully rounded conclusion inNo Time to Die, not only because the movie still hearkens back to his romance with Vesper Lynd, but also becausehis commitment to Madeleine Swannfeels earned and meaningful. Another advantage of this is thatthe character is allowed to age with the star, preventing such awkward images as 50+-year-old actors still playing the part like they are in their 30s, leading to some painfully bad action sequences and cringeworthy romances.
1He Gets a Real Conclusion.
‘No Time to Die’ gives Craig a conclusive farewell from the franchise.
Final performances from Bond actors have ranged from being painfully awkward and unintentionally hilarious to underappreciated yet inconclusive. All had been unceremonious, until Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 in 2021’s action epicNo Time to Die. Clocking in at 163 minutes, it is by far the longest film in the franchise, and it uses this extended runtime to deliver a satisfying and meaningful resolution to James Bond’s arc.
Coinciding with the aforementioned quality of the evolution of Bond throughout Craig’s films, his fifth and final picture isan emotional farewell that is both reflective and resolute, whereas other Bond stars have finished their tenures with a disappointing lack of finality.Craig’s performance is delicately somber in the movie, especially as his relationship with Madeleine Swan and their daughter takes center stage. His sacrificial resolution isa poignant and pointed end to his erathat steers the franchise into new territory with great authority and skill.
