Whenever fans are asked to name their favorite James Bond, it’s almost always going to end up with the result putting Sean Connery into the top spot. So the fact that a recent poll landed the legendary 007 in the lead isn’t what surprised me. The big twist ending to the latest 007 ranking poll is the fact that oft underrated Timothy Dalton found himself in second place. Cue the suspenseful music!
This particular voting exercise was run by RadioTimes, and while you might think it was a standard up and down poll, you’d be wrong. Through a bracket system, voters were able to advance their preferential candidates through the field of six into a final stand-off that saw Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan facing off for the top 3 honors. Which stands as a shocking outcome, as well as a validation for Dalton’s time in the tuxedo for only two films.
With only The Living Daylights and License To Kill to his credit, Timothy Dalton’s super serious 007 is usually overshadowed by not only Sean Connery’s initial tenure in the role, but also Roger Moore’s previously record setting run before him. Out of the six actors that have played the role, Dalton tends to be lumped in with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service actor George Lazenby, as both were only in the franchise for an exceedingly limited time.
Are you ready for another twist? Current James Bond actor Daniel Craig was the first to be knocked out. Round 1 of this tournament of doom saw Connery and Craig go head to head, right from the first frame. It’s not surprising that these two would face off at some point or another, but it looks like no matter when it happened, Sean Connery’s 56% showing was always going to beat Daniel Craig’s 43%.
Somehow, even with breaking records at the box office and in his time holding onto the role of James Bond, Daniel Craig found himself on the wrong end of the Walther PPK, and it kind of stings. Whether it’s the bracket system at work, or the actual will of the people, Timothy Dalton looks to finally be getting his due in the James Bond lexicon; and it’s about time. Maybe with these results, fans of both the classic and modern Bond movies will feel motivated to go back to those two films and see what the newly kicked up fuss is about.
Though it’ll be interesting to see if someone else launches a poll post No Time To Die, and how that film’s story will potentially affect people’s opinions on Daniel Craig as James Bond. Should current plans hold up, we’ll see the 25th James Bond film in theaters on November 20th. In the meantime, feel free to vote in the poll below as to who you think the number 2 James Bond actor is in your heart; and don’t forget to show your work in the comments section as well.
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