What 007 told us

Speak up, James.

We mean you - James Bond. 007.

Yes, we have met and interviewed five of the six men who graced the screen as Bond.

Looking back into our notebooks, here are quotes directly from the mouths of the actors who played - or are playing - Bond.

(Incidentally, the one we didn't get was George Lazenby, who played Bond only once, in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Is it a coincidence, too, that he is the only Bond who married? Diana Rigg was the bride, but she expired promptly.)

Here's what the Bonds had to say about Bond.

"I knew this was something new for James Bond. He's darker. He's more complex, and he's actually in danger. I knew I could play him. 'Dr. No' and 'From Russia With Love' were two of my favorite movies as a kid. I was wary of taking the job, but then I thought I'd end up in a bar someday and be telling people, 'I could have been James Bond.' "

-Daniel Craig, the sixth, and current, Bond.  "Casino Royale" (2006), "Quantum of Solace" (2008)

"I'm bored with being politically correct. I think Bond should be fun. The pressure is off."

-Pierce Brosnan, after "Goldeneye" and at the opening of "Tomorrow Never Dies." He pointed out that Bond had survived feminism, social change, the end of the Cold War and even anti-smoking campaigns - as he took a draw off a fat cigar.  "GoldenEye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), "The World Is Not Enough" (1999), "Die Another Day" (2002)

"I don't carry a gun with me when I go to the supermarket. It's a job. Has success changed me? Why should it? I know who I am. I know how I like to live. I was working onstage and in films for 20 years before I took the role of James Bond, and I'm not bowled over by it all. I'm certainly not going to live his life."

-Timothy Dalton  "The Living Daylights (1987), "Licence to Kill" (1989)

"As long as they say, 'There goes somebody,' it's fine with me. Doesn't much matter what they call me, but it would be terrible to be an actor and be anonymous. I aged 10 years last night, but not because of the royalty. It was because of Jack Daniels."

-Roger Moore, on the morning after one of his Bond films was shown for Prince Charles and Princess Diana in London.  "Live and Let Die" (1973), "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), "The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), "Moonraker" (1979), "For Your Eyes Only (1981), "Octopussy (1983), "A View To A Kill" (1985)

"I don't hate James Bond at all. I just keep him in his place. Image? I don't think I have one. I certainly don't have one of myself. I think we should all see each other differently, on different days. The fellow is fine to play, but he's a bit much, don't you think? If I met him, I don't think I'd like the chap."

-Sean Connery  "Dr. No" (1962), "From Russia with Love" (1963), "Goldfinger" (1964), "Thunderball" (1965), "You Only Live Twice" (1967), "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), "Never Say Never Again (1983) the most level-headed about 007 perhaps the best actor of the lot the most eager to play the part the most skeptical about the part the most serious about the part the least impressed with the part