Since Ian Fleming’s most famous literary character was brought to life onscreen in the early 1960s by director Terence Young, the iconic role of James Bond — aka code name 007 — has been played by the likes of Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. The actors’ portrayals of the vodka martini–sipping, Aston Martin–driving secret agent span 25 films — all of which are streaming on Netflix now. From Dr. No to No Time to Die, read on to find out where in the decades-long collection to start your Bond journey.
Yes, it’s the 1962 movie that ignited the James Bond franchise. British agent 007, played by a 32-year-old Sean Connery, goes to Jamaica to solve the mystery of a colleague’s disappearance and stop a mad scientist hell-bent on destroying the US space program. Directed by Terence Young, who went on to direct several Bond movies, the film also stars Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder and Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No.
Plotting revenge for the elimination of their lead scientist, crime syndicate SPECTRE lures Bond into the crosshairs with a honey trap he just can’t resist. Young is back to collaborate with Connery on this film, which also stars Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana and Lotte Leyna as antagonist Rosa Klebb.
When a gold-obsessed business tycoon named Auric Goldfinger hatches a scheme to raid Fort Knox and monopolize the world’s gold markets, there’s only one international superspy who can stop him. Directed by Guy Hamilton,1965’s Goldfinger stars Connery, Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, Gert Fröbe as the titular character, and Shirley Eaton as Jill Masterson.
In the fourth installment of the Bond franchise, which features an underwater fight scene in the Bahamas, crime syndicate SPECTRE reemerges with two stolen nuclear warheads and a plan to extort £100 million from governments around the world. Directed once again by Young, 1965’s Thunderball stars Connery, Claudine Auger as Dominique “Domino” Derval, and Adolfo Celi as bad guy Emilio Largo.
With the US and the Soviet Union edging toward war after spaceships from both regions mysteriously vanish, James Bond fakes his own death to pursue the real culprits when one of the crafts lands in the Sea of Japan. Directed by Lewis Gilbert,1967’s You Only Live Twice stars Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi as Agent Aki, and Donald Pleasence as the big bad Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
George Lazenby’s only appearance as Bond was in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Agent 007 tracks his archnemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, now played by Telly Savalas, to an Alpine allergy research institute, where Blofeld brainwashes patients to cause mayhem around the world. Directed by Peter R. Hunt, the film also stars Diana Rigg as Tracy di Vicenzo, a countess who captures Bond’s heart.
Connery returns to the franchise as Bond in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, directed once again by Hamilton. When his archenemy Blofeld, now played by Charles Gray, begins stockpiling diamonds for use in a deadly weapon, 007 sets out to stop the madman with help from a smuggler named Plenty O’Toole (Lana Wood).
Introducing Roger Moore as James Bond, Hamilton returns to direct 1973’s Live and Let Die, which finds 007 in pursuit of a drug kingpin whose diabolical scheme to establish a monopoly threatens to destroy Harlem. Alongside Moore, Jane Seymour stars as Solitaire and Yaphet Kotto plays Kananga — aka Mr. Big.
The world’s most expensive assassin, Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), hunts James Bond as the superspy attempts to recover stolen solar technology that could level an entire city. Directed by Hamilton, 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun stars Moore; Britt Ekland as Bond’s secretary, Mary Goodnight; and Maud Adams as Scaramanga’s girlfriend, Andrea Anders.
Bond (Moore) joins forces with Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach), a cheeky Russian agent, in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me from director Lewis Gilbert. The pair must stop wealthy industrialist Karl Stromberg (Curd Jürgens) and his terrifying henchman, Jaws (Richard Kiel), from nuking New York City to create his own underwater empire.
When space shuttles start to go missing mid-flight, Bond tracks down Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale), a maniacal industrialist with an unhinged vision to repopulate Earth with hand-picked genetically superior humans. The first movie in the franchise to send Bond all the way to outer space, 1979’s Moonraker stars Moore, Lois Chiles as NASA scientist Holly Goodhead, and Richard Kiel reprising his role as Jaws.
When an encryption device capable of controlling England’s submarine fleet is stolen, Bond races to recover it before Soviet agents launch the entirety of the fleet’s ballistic missiles. Directed by John Glen, 1981’s For Your Eyes Only stars Moore, Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock, and Julian Glover as Aristotle Kristatos.
While investigating the suspicious death of Agent 009, Bond discovers a jewel-smuggling network that’s now moving something far more dangerous — a nuclear bomb set to be detonated at a NATO base. The 1983 film directed by Glen stars Moore alongside Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan and Maud Adams as the titular Octopussy.
When a KGB-funded tech billionaire, Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), forms a diabolical plan to sink his Silicon Valley competitors — literally — only Bond can stop him. 1985’s A View to a Kill, directed by Glen, stars Moore and Grace Jones as Zorin’s henchwoman, May Day.
In Timothy Dalton’s debut as 007, Bond helps KGB agent Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) defect — only to be drawn into a deadly game of double agents. Directed by Glen, 1987’s The Living Daylights also stars Maryam d’Abo as Koskov’s girlfriend, Kara Milovy.
When Bond’s best friend’s wife is murdered on her wedding day by powerful drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), the MI6 agent disobeys direct orders to pursue her killer to South America — even if that means getting suspended from the agency. Timothy Dalton’s second and final appearance as Bond, 1989’s Licence to Kill also stars Carey Lowell as former army pilot Pam Bouvier.
In Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as 007, Bond investigates a mysterious weapon called GoldenEye after a powerful elecromagnetic pulse wipes out a Russian satellite base. Directed by Martin Campbell, 1995’s GoldenEye also stars Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp, Sean Bean as 006, Judi Dench as M, and Alan Cumming as Boris Grishenko.
Bond (Brosnan) teams up with Chinese superspy Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh, to ensure that a ruthless media mogul hell-bent on breaking into the Chinese market doesn’t stoke a full-on war between the East and the West. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies also stars Dench, Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver, and Jonathan Price as Elliot Carver.
Assigned to protect an oil heiress from the assassins who killed her father, Bond uncovers a nefarious plot to increase oil prices by triggering a nuclear meltdown in the Middle East. Directed by Michael Apted, 1999’s The World Is Not Enough stars Brosnan, Dench, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, and John Cleese.
Pierce Brosnan’s last outing as 007 opens with Bond as he’s betrayed by one of his own and left to rot in a North Korean prison. When he finally escapes, he only has one thing on his mind: vengeance. Directed by Lee Tamahori, 2002’s Die Another Day also stars Dench, Cleese, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens, and Will Yun Lee.
In Daniel Craig’s debut as 007, Bond suits up for his very first mission as an MI6 agent. With the help of cutthroat Treasury liaison Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), he plots to take down Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), an infamous financier of global terrorism, at the poker table. Directed by Martin Campbell, the 2006 movie — not to be confused with the 1967 spoof of the same name — also stars Dench as M and Jeffrey Wright as CIA agent Felix Leiter.
Heartbroken about his lover’s murder, Bond begins a dogged search for the shadow criminal organization responsible — only to find a dastardly plot to seize control of the world’s natural resources. Directed by Marc Forster, 2008’s Quantum of Solace stars Craig, Dench, Wright, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton, and David Harbour.
When MI6 is hacked, exposing undercover agents across the world, only Bond has the skills to hunt down this cyberterrorist before the intelligence agency is destroyed for good. Directed by Sam Mendes, 2012’s Skyfall stars Craig, Dench, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, and Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory.
Suspended from MI6, Bond heads off on a rogue mission that forces him into a brutal family showdown that he never saw coming. Directed by Mendes, 2015’s Spectre stars Craig, Dench, Whishaw, Harris, Léa Seydoux, Andrew Scott, and Monica Bellucci.
Despite enjoying retirement, when an old CIA friend asks for help on a mission, Bond can’t resist. What he doesn’t expect is for the extraction of a deadly bioweapon to go so wrong … and thrust him back into his ex-lover’s life. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2021’s No Time to Die stars Craig, Dench, Whishaw, Fiennes, Harris, Christoph Waltz, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen, and Ana de Armas.
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