James Bond filmography by Connery, was selected as the third-greatest hero in cinema history by the American Film Institute. When Sean Connery had been cast in November 1961, David Niven had been Fleming's choice for the role as the actor reflected his image of the character. In 1965 producer Charles Feldman signed Niven to play Sir James Bond for "Casino Royale", a film not made by Eon Productions. Connery and Peter Sellers had both turned down the role. Niven was 56 when he played Bond and his characterisation was that of an elderly man who had won the Victoria Cross at the Siege
James Bond in film Never Again" had its origins in the early 1960s following the controversy over the 1961 "Thunderball" novel, which led to Kevin McClory becoming producer of the Eon Productions film of the same name. Part of the agreement between McClory and Eon was that McClory would not make any further version of the novel for a period of ten years following the release of the 1965 "Thunderball". In the mid-1970s McClory again started working on a project to bring a "Thunderball" adaptation to production and, with the working title "Warhead" (a.k.a. "James Bond of the Secret Service") he brought writer Len