Barry Nelson
Played James Bond In: The 1954 live television adaptation of Casino Royale that aired on the CBS anthology series Climax!, making him the first actor to ever play Bond in any medium.
Life After Bond: Nelson may not have ever played Bond again, but he was gainfully employed on television throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s, appearing on such shows as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and the original Battlestar Galactica. He also had a small role in Stanley Kubrick's horror classic The Shining as the manager of the Overlook Hotel. Wonder if he and ol' Stan talked Bond during shooting?
Current Status: Nelson passed away in 2007 at the age of 89.
Career Advice for Craig: If the movie offers dry up, don't be afraid of TV.

Sean Connery
Played James Bond In: Some of the all-time great Bonds, starting with 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).
Life After Bond: Connery has easily had the most up-and-down career of all the ex-Bonds, alternating terrific films like Robin and Marian, The Man Who Would Be King and The Hunt for Red October, with utter crap like The Avengers, Medicine Man and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as well as a few cult oddities like Zardoz and Highlander. (Don't forget such dumb-but-fun blockbusters as The Rock and Entrapment as well.) He's also the only one of the bunch to revisit the role after his license had officially expired, first in Diamonds Are Forever (following George Lazenby) and again in Never Say Never Again (going head-to-head against Roger Moore).
Current Status: Retired since 2003.
Career Advice for Craig: The Bond franchise will bring you all sorts of new opportunities; some will be good and some will be terrible, but at least you'll keep working. Don't be too picky lest the offers dry up, but also know that it's okay to say "No" to an obvious bomb like Medicine Man... or, apparently, Dream House.

David Niven
Played James Bond In: The 1967 all-star spy spoof Casino Royale.
Life After Bond: A respected screen veteran -- he appeared in such classics as The Bishop's Wife and A Matter of Life and Death and won a Best Actor Oscar for 1959's Separate Tables -- before his one-time outing as Bond, Niven entered his twilight years following Casino Royale, appearing in such largely forgettable fare as Prudence and the Pill, Candleshoe and Curse of the Pink Panther. Bond legend has it that Niven was the image author Ian Fleming had in his mind's eye when he originally created his super-spy.
Current Status: Niven died in 1983 at the age of 73.
Career Advice for Craig: Don't front-load your career -- save some good flicks for your later years.

George Lazenby
Played James Bond In: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), which is widely regarded as one of the very finest 007 outings.
Life After Bond: Although he originally signed on for seven movies, Lazenby opted to leave the series on the advice of his agent. It's a shame, because even though he had the misfortune of following Connery, he holds the screen quite nicely in Service and probably could have put his own distinct mark on the role had he opted to continue. Still, he has continued to work steadily in the thirty years since his lone Bond adventure, appearing in such eclectic fare as The Kentucky Fried Movie, the original Hawaii Five-O and as a voice on the animated series Batman Begins.
Current Status: The 72-year-old Lazenby just shot a small role in the crime film Human Factor, starring Tom Sizemore and Danny Trejo.
Career Advice for Craig: If you're going to walk away from Bond, make sure its on your terms.

Roger Moore
Played James Bond In: 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) and what may be the single worst Bond movie ever, A View to a Kill (1985).
Life After Bond: Following his final appearance as Bond, the perpetually busy Moore slowed down his output considerably, going from appearing in a movie or on TV every year to appearing once every two or three years. The movies themselves have ranged from the Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick The Quest to the Spice Girls vehicle, Spice World, while his TV work includes the short-lived Charlie's Angels rip-off The Dream Team and an episode of Alias.
Current Status: Moore still pops up here and there; last year, he provided a voice for Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore and will appear in the Hallmark Channel TV movie A Princess for Christmas, which will air this holiday season.
Career Advice for Craig: Don't wear out your welcome as 007; leave before you become a walking punchline. Also, don't make movies with Jean-Claude Van Damme or the Spice Girls.

Timothy Dalton
Played James Bond In: The two most-often overlooked Bonds, The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989).
Life After Bond: Mostly panned at the time, Dalton's two-movie stint as 007 has come to be re-appreciated in recent years. In the meantime, he's launched a second career playing villains and hard-asses in such movies as The Rocketeer, American Outlaws and Hot Fuzz. And we can't not mention his turn in The Beautician and the Beast, the very best beautician-moves-to-an-Eastern European country-and-falls-for-its-Stalinesque dictator romantic comedy every made.
Current Status: Now a full-fledged character actor, Dalton had a crucial recurring role in the fourth season of NBC's Chuck and voiced the character of Mr. Pricklepants in Toy Story 3.
Career Advice for Craig: Indulge your dark side once in awhile and play the bad guy rather than the hero.

Pierce Brosnan
Played James Bond In: The great Bond revival that started with GoldenEye (1995) and continued in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).
Life After Bond: Never really hard up for work before taking over as Bond, Brosnan's career hasn't slowed down much since the role was passed on to Craig. If anything, his choices have become more interesting and varied -- it's hard to imagine him accepting offbeat fare like the dark comedy The Matador and the mystical Western Seraphim Falls or agreeing to show off his (limited) vocal chords in Mamma Mia! back in his 007 days. On the other hand, he's also made such questionable choices as Brett Ratner's After the Sunset and Percy Jackson & The Olympians so his taste isn't perfect.
Current Status: Just starred opposite in Sarah Jessica Parker in I Don't Know How She Does It and appears in next year's All You Need Is Love from Oscar-winning director, Susanne Bier.
Career Advice for Craig: Say yes to riskier projects once you've bid turned in your license to kill.

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