4 Actors Have Now Played James Bond Since Daniel Craig's Exit

Published Sep 24, 2026, 10:31 AM EDT

Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.

It’s been five years since Daniel Craig took his final bow in the role of James Bond. No Time to Die wrapped up Craig’s tenure with a bittersweet sense of finality (and a torrential rainfall of missiles), leaving the door open for another actor to don the tuxedo, pick up the Walther PPK, and carry the torch for the next generation.

Amazon Studios is taking over the Bond franchise, so the casting decision is in their hands, and they’re still deliberating over it. From Callum Turner to Jacob Elordi to Paul Mescal to Regé-Jean Page to Slow Horses’ Jack Lowden, we’ve seen plenty of rumors, fluctuating betting odds, and promising frontrunners, but still nothing concrete.

In the half-decade since Craig departed the role, four different actors have played a version of 007 in other media. In the time we’ve been waiting for Amazon to pick a new Bond, we’ve seen four more Bonds. We’ve had an official Bond video game, a meta Bond-within-a-Bond performance, and two portrayals of real-life figures who inspired Ian Fleming’s creation of 007.

Patrick Gibson In First Light

The most official Bond performance we’ve seen since Craig’s retirement from the role is Patrick Gibson in the video game 007 First Light. From Hitman developer IO Interactive, First Light is essentially a Hitman-style Bond game, combining the sleek, stealthy strategy of those Agent 47 games with the gadget-laden goofery of the Bond franchise.

Along with the combat, gameplay, and storytelling, Gibson’s portrayal of Bond was one of the most acclaimed aspects of First Light. He stepped out of the shadow of his cinematic peers and delivered an original yet faithful depiction of this formidable icon.

Henry Cavill In The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Henry Cavill was the runner-up for the role of Bond before Craig was cast. Cavill was deemed too young, the part went to Craig, and Cavill eventually played Superman instead. While Cavill’s hat is still in the ring all these years later, he’s no longer considered a serious contender for the role of 007. But Guy Ritchie has given him two consolation prizes: first, he cast him in the very Bond-like role of Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and then, he cast him as Bond’s real-life inspiration, Gus March-Phillipps, in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was Ritchie’s attempt at an Inglourious Basterds-style guys-on-a-mission World War II actioner. Gus, their intrepid Aldo Raine-like leader, was not only one of Fleming’s primary inspirations for the Bond character; he was one of the early pioneers of the Special Air Service.

Riz Ahmed In Bait

Earlier this year, Riz Ahmed created and starred in the satirical dramedy series Bait. He plays Shah Latif, a British Pakistani actor who finds himself under consideration for the role of Bond. As he goes through the audition process, he faces public backlash and family fallouts.

This is more of a Bond-within-a-Bond performance, but we still got to see what Ahmed’s take on 007 would be. Bait opened up an interesting discussion around a potential color-blind casting for Bond.

Nicolas Cage In Fortitude

Gus March-Phillipps wasn’t the only influence on Fleming’s creation of 007; he was also based on children’s author Roald Dahl (who wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Twice) and Serbian double agent Duško Popov. Popov was a womanizing badass who passed off disinformation to the Germans as part of the British Double-Cross System.

Nicolas Cage is set to play Popov in a movie this year. It doesn’t have a release date yet, but Fortitude will tell the improbable true story of how Popov and his cohorts fooled Nazi leadership. So, that’ll be our fourth James Bond in the time we’ve been waiting for Craig’s replacement to even be announced.