The Best Debut for a James Bond Actor.

What film do you consider to be the best debut for an actor? Why?

My answer's an obvious one here, but TBH I do love most of those films, only exceptions probably being LALD and GE.

Reasons? Probably the tone (not really much silly stuff and Bond played fairly straight all the way through with few gadgets or a real edge) and the really committed and fairly distinctive leading man performances in DN, OHMSS, TLD and CR - the first being a great intro, while the other three of those performances seem to refresh the character in a positive way for me. The music scores are awesome in OHMSS and TLD too. LALD is too light for me in it's leading man department and, although I like many other things about it (the score, the song, the titles, Kananga, the potentially sinister voodoo aspect, the Bond intro in his house), it's all undercut by Moore's lightweight, overly-flippant performance for me. GE... just seems too secondhand and production-line in too many departments IMO, full of either stock characters (Bond himself, Ourumov, Onatopp) or downright bloody awful ones (Boris) as well as the stale old lazer in space and big improbable base thing. The score works well though in creating the right cold atmosphere, and Campbell's direction is patient thus the film is fairly well-structured. I don't hate it, but it's definitely the lesser of those debuts IMO.

TLD. From Dalton's first appearance in the pre-title sequence, we see this a Bond to be reckoned with and that strong positive first impression lasts through the remainder of the film. Plus, it's very refreshing after AVTAK when the otherwise wonderful Roger Moore stayed for one Bond film too many.

DN. Nothing can beat Connery's intro.

I think all the others except Moore had pretty solid starts as Bond.

I'm not looking at the entire performance through out the film, but instead, just the actors' first scenes as James Bond.

I'd rank them as:

1. Connery
2. Dalton
3. Craig
4. Moore
5. Lazenby
6. Brosnan

Connery's introduction was much like something out of one of the novels, more so than any of the other actors' debuts, in my opinion.

Dalton's was mixed with some decent action, and then Bond getting the chick right before the titles sequence.

Craig's worked well until they started cutting to the bathroom fight. I did like how he was in his superior's office before he arrived and disarmed his weapon.

Moore's was pretty low-key, but he had been doing things right before M arrived.

I don't have much of a problem's with Lazenby's intro. Brosnan's was a bit over the top, however; jumping off dams, blowing up S***, and driving off a cliff with a bike.

Connery-Gambling, smoking, and verbally fencing with Sylvia
Lazenby-Chasing and rescuing his suicidal future wife
Moore-Shagging, then making a hilariously complicated cappuccino.
Dalton-Killing the B*****D who nicked his buddy, then sex
Brosnan-Bungee jumping, blowing up a chemical weapons factory, and catching an airplane in mid freefall
Craig-Ruthlessly getting his first two kills

Connery easily had the best, setting the tone of him as a verbal sparring champion and master gambler. The rest vary. Brosnan and Moore's intros reflect what defines their time as Bond. Lazenby emphasizes the chivalrous side of Bond, while Dalton emphasizes the vengeful. Craig's is the only one that hits Bond's ruthlessness.

Mr. Brown wrote:

IConnery's introduction was much like something out of one of the novels, more so than any of the other actors' debuts, in my opinion.

Hmmm. Keeping Bond's face from the audience for as long as possible. Actually, I'd say that's a cinematic moment, and they're rare in Bond films. Eon were obviously pleased as they played the same trick again with Blofeld. For f*cking years.

Sean was real good but he had to be , considering he was competing with Gayson's cleavage for attention. He's lucky Young ever got around to pointing the camera at him.

Very tough one, they all had great introductions as Bond. I enjoy them all, however in the end if a choice has to be made it has to be Sean Connery.

Great question, FieldsMan, and I'll do my best to answer it.

Which film made the best debut? I'm going to say The Living Daylights, with Dr No and Casino Royale close behind.

In terms of characters, DN gives little weight to anyone but its hero. It does an admirable job at setting Bond up, and in doing so provides one of the best-rounded versions of the man on screen. In theory, CR makes the best debut IMO. It develops the character into the idiosyncratic beast that he is for the majority of his adventures. You need a new Bond to get away with that. However, the 'young Bond' approach, and its clash with Craig's casting, seems to have scarred his portrayal. CR wasn't the best possible debut, simply through the fact it ended up misrepresenting the character by giving Bond extra baggage that was immediately useless.

TLD pulls off the same trick DN did - it's focused on Bond, and that's about it. It provides a valid interpretation of the character that is upheld by all its elements. I can't objectively say TLD provides a better debut for the Bond it features - but the new version of Bond it presents, to me, is the most compelling and interesting in the series. TLD also makes good use of a secondary character - Kara - to explore Bond. The film works like a buddy feature, with the pair's interaction driving it forward. Couple this with the fact that TLD gathers up the best about Bond at the time (down-to-earth, adventurous & romantic tones), and it really feels like the most effective debut they could've mustered.

I feel OHMSS would've worked far better as a penultimate or final film, and GE can't exist without the context provided by the rest of the series. Both are flawed as debuts, IMO. LALD just sucks.

I'd rank them...

1. OHMSS
2. GE
3. DN
4. CR
5. LALD
6. TLD

Fine films all - the first 5 reside safely in my top 10.

1. TLD
2. DN
3. OHMSS
4. CR
5. GE
6. LALD

1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2) Dr. No
3) Casino Royale
4) The Living Daylights
___Beyond here be crap___
5) Live and Let Die
6) Goldeneye

1. TLD
2. OHMSS
3. DN
4. CR
5. GE
6. LALD

Everyone had a decent intro, when I get to thinking about it.

Of course I'll pick Dalton, no one is surprised there. This was also my introduction to Bond, and clearly I liked what I saw. It felt like any modern movie, yet played out like a classic. I was enthralled. Sure takes me back just thinking about the first time I saw it.... *sigh*

I voted for Sean Connery in Dr. No. The introduction of the character is done so well, it has never been outdone by any of the other actors imo.