James Bond has a license to kill, and clearly also a license for brilliant one-liners. With the new 007 movie No Time to Die being just the latest hit in the series, we thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to revisit Bond’s best quotes from all 60 years of the 007 saga. From playful sexual innuendos to downright corny lines that come dangerously close to dad jokes, here are 20 of the most iconic James Bond quotes of all time.
First, how many Bonds have there been?
Please, have a helpful guide to help you contextualize each of the best James Bond quotes of all time.
Sean Connery
Scottish amateur bodybuilder turned actor Sean Connery first brought author Ian Fleming’s agent 007 to life in the debut James Bond film “Dr. No” (1962). Fleming, in fact, didn’t find Connery suave enough to be Bond, but audiences disagreed, finding Connery’s playboy nature and cold-blooded charm while delivering the best James Bond quotes thoroughly enrapturing — and, at times, hilarious. He appeared in four more bond films until 1971, and returned to the role for “Never Say Never Again” (1983).
David Niven
David Niven, in fact, was original Bond author Ian Fleming’s first choice for the role. Niven assumed Bond’s duties for just one film — “Casino Royale” (1967). Niven was 56 at the time though, and was cast as an elderly Bond who had a daughter by another spy. Since he didn’t have Connery’s same edge they crafted a plotline where Niven’s Bond handed his name and title off to another Bond, pretty much the unnamed Connery.
George Lazenby
Australian silver screen newcomer George Lazenby came to the Bond team’s attention when they saw an advertisement for Fry’s Chocolate Cream, around the time the team was bickering over who should be their long-term Bond. As such, Lazenby only played Bond in one film: “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969). Many said he lent the character equal parts swagger and sensitivity.
Roger Moore
Apparently, the Bond team finally decided that Connery was their guy, but Connery declined a return to the role after “Diamonds Are Forever” (YEAR). English actor Roger Moore had been in the running for the role throughout the previous decade’s shenanigans, but his schedule hadn’t aligned with shooting. He first took the stage for “Live And Let Die” (1973) and played Bond in six more legendary Bond films like “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977) and “Octopussy” (1983) before his final performance in “A View to a Kill” (1985). He’s considered amongst the most erudite and well-mannered James Bonds.
Timothy Dalton
Roger Moore retired in 1985, and the search for James Bond was back on. Classically-trained British actor Timothy Dalton participated in the auditions that took place in 1986 — he’d been considered in his mid-20s, but the Bond team ultimately decided he was too young. Now that he was the right demographic, Dalton applied his Shakesperian training to the Bond role, studying all the material at his disposal to create the most accurate portrayal possible. Many fans missed the previous James Bonds’ levity, so Dalton only lasted for two films: “The Living Daylights” (1987) and “License to Kill” (1989).
Pierce Brosnan
Irish actor Pierce Brosnan had also been considered many times for the Bond role, even auditioning in 1986 alongside Dalton, but at that time Brosnan had a contract with Remington Steele that interfered. By the time Dalton retired in 1994, however, Brosnan was ready to rumble, and accepted a three-film contract. Brosnan’s portrayal reflected pivoting attitudes on the societal scale — he wasn’t such an aloof womanizer, and he definitely didn’t smoke cigarettes. Brosnan went on to play Bond in four films in fact, starting with “GoldenEye” (1995) and ending with “Die Another Day” (2002).
Daniel Craig
Which leads us to our current James Bond, perhaps the agent 007 most of our readers know and love best. The Bond team selected English actor Daniel Craig to fill the role in 2005 — he is by now the longest-running James Bond, having appeared in five Bond films starting with “Casino Royale” (2006) through “No Time To Die” (2021). Some Bond fans weren’t pleased upon Craig’s appointment, though, calling him “James Blonde” and starting protests online that he wasn’t tall or dark enough for the job. Critics, however, have been stunned by Craig’s acting prowess time and again as he rebooted the Bond timeline. Fans have come around, too.
1. Shaken, not stirred.
007 sure loves a stiff vodka martini.
Fun fact: According to the criteria for alcohol use disorder, James Bond is a raging alcoholic. A scientific article published in the Medical Journal of Australia titled License to Swill analyzed al 24 films in the franchise, and suggests 007 has a “chronic alcohol consumption problem at the ‘severe’ end of the spectrum.”
2. That’s awkward.
This gem of a 007 quote from Diamonds are Forever might resonate with any man who’s ever had someone walk in on them at an…inopportune time.
Bond: “Well, I’m afraid you’ve caught me with more than my hands up.”
3. The introduction of the most iconic name in cinematic history.
Pussy Galore: “My name is Pussy Galore.”
Bond: “…I must be dreaming.”
Really, though. Pussy Galore is my favorite name in the entire James Bond franchise. It’s so wrong that it’s right.
4. Honey looks for shells, James Bond looks at Honey looking for shells.
The scene where James Bond meets Bond girl Honey Ryder in the movie Dr. No gives us yet another iconic quote that is actually quite relatable, considering how otherworldly gorgeous Ursula Andress is. She is literally Venus in the flesh and the epitome of a woman.
Honey: “What are you doing here? Looking for shells?”
Bond: “No, I’m just looking.”
All of us: Same.
5. “I never miss.”
Elektra: “You wouldn’t kill me. You’d miss me.”
*Bond totally kills her*
Bond: “I never miss.”
Oh my god, this is so cheesy that it hurts.
6. Christmas does WHAT?
The name’s Bond. James ‘cringy pun’ Bond.
Bond: “I was wrong about you.”
Christmas Jones: “Yeah, how so?”
Bond: “I thought Christmas only comes once a year.”
7. Miss Anders’ modesty is confusing.
Bond: “Miss Anders! I didn’t recognise you with your clothes on.”
8. Wet woman, dry martini, and James Bond.
Fatima Blush: “Oh, how reckless of me. I made you all wet.”
Bond: “Yes, but my martini is still dry. My name is James.”
The smoothest pickup line of all time? Methinks so.
9. She’s just dead, no big deal.
Bond: *Uses villainess as a human shield* “Do you mind if my friend sits this one out? She’s just dead.”
10. Shocking!
Bond: *electrocutes someone in a bathtub* “Shocking. Positively shocking.
11. Plenty O’Toole: The Bustiest Bond Girl
Plenty: Hi, I’m Plenty!
Bond: *direct eye contact with her ample bosom* But of course you are.
Plenty: “Plenty O’Toole!”
Bond: “Named after your father, perhaps?”
Oh, Plenty O’Toole. Busty bond girl extraordinaire.
12. Brosnan’s the studious type.
James Bond *practicing Danish while bedding his tutor*
Professor Inga Bergstrom: I am pleased with your progress, Mr. Bond.
James Bond: I’ve always enjoyed studying a new tongue, Professor.
Professor Inga Bergstrom: One might say you have a natural ability.
So Pierce Brosnan felt like a schoolboy, huh?
13. Connery offers fatherly advice.
Even in bed, James Bond has principles. In Goldfinger, when Connery pulls a champagne from the ice bucket and finds it warm, he insists on chilling the bottle in the fridge. “My dear girl,” he tells his playmate, “there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.”
14. The name’s Devoted. Madly Devoted.
James Bond: “I’ll do anything for a woman with a knife.”
Dalton’s Bond declares his love like this in “Licence to Kill” when his lucky lady entreats him to come cut a birthday cake.
15. Slapstick Sean.
*Bond shoots a villain with a spear* : “I think he got the point.”
Again, we often think of Bond as suave and sexy — but, especially played by Connery, he was silly too!
16. Fire with the burns, too.
James Bond: “Let’s count to three. You can do that, can’t you?”
Brosnan has a lot of great lines in “The World Is Not Enough” (1997), but this one, well, burns the cake.
17. Meta commentary.
In an interrogation in “GoldenEye,” the villain opposite Bond asks how he wants to be executed, to which Bond replies: “What, no small-talk? No chit-chat? That’s the trouble with the world today. No one takes the time to do a really sinister interrogation anymore. It’s a lost art.”
Not exactly breaking the fourth wall, but could come pretty close since this was a significant new era for James Bond!
18. Craig loves the classics.
James Bond, shaving with a classic razor: “Well, I like to do some things the old-fashioned way.”
Daniel Craig won some fans over with this line in Skyfall, a shoutout to his role re-duxing the Bond saga.
19. Dropping wisdom.
James Bond: “History isn’t kind to men who play God.”
Clearly Craig is using his platform to say what needs to be said, like this always timely line in “No Time to Die”
20. Bond. James Bond.
Lastly, let’s round out the list with perhaps the most iconic 007 quote of all time: Sean Connery, a.k.a. the OG James Bond saying the legendary line for the first time.
Now let’s all stay tuned for when the next James Bond movie hits theaters!
