Timothy Dalton fantasy plots and humour. A fan of the literary character, often seen re-reading and referring to the novels on set, Dalton determined to approach the role and play truer to the original character described by Fleming. His 007, therefore, came across as a reluctant agent who did not always enjoy the assignments he was given, something seen on screen before, albeit obliquely, only in George Lazenby's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". In "The Living Daylights," for example, Bond tells a critical colleague, Saunders, "Stuff my orders! ... Tell M what you want. If he fires me, I'll thank him for
James Bond released the first cinema adaptation of an Ian Fleming novel, "Dr. No", featuring Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in a further four films before leaving the role after "You Only Live Twice", which was taken up by George Lazenby for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Lazenby left the role after just one appearance and Connery was brought back for his last Eon-produced film "Diamonds Are Forever". In 1973 Roger Moore was appointed to the role of 007 for "Live and Let Die" and played Bond a further six times over twelve years before being replaced by Timothy Dalton for