178 Fun Facts About James Bond

Which Goldfinger henchman kills with a steel-rimmed bowler hat?

Oddjob actor Harold Sakata was badly burned filming his electrocution death scene, but he kept holding the hat until the director called cut.

Which singer held the last note of Thunderball's theme so long that the room was spinning?

Tom Jones got the song only after the original theme was dropped for not containing the film's title.

Which band sang the theme song for The Living Daylights?

A-ha and composer John Barry worked together so badly that two versions exist: his mix on the soundtrack and theirs on a 1988 album.

Piz Gloria, the mountaintop restaurant filmed as Blofeld's lair, stands in which country?

Switzerland's Piz Gloria was still half-built when the filmmakers found it, so they helped pay to finish it in return for exclusive use.

Which actress portrayed M in several James Bond films, including 'Skyfall'?

Judi Dench's M was modelled on Stella Rimington, the real spy chief who became the first woman to run MI5.

Which US president named a Fleming novel among his ten favourite books, sparking a Bond boom in America?

John F. Kennedy picked From Russia, with Love for a 1961 Life magazine list, and the sales surge made Fleming America's biggest-selling crime writer.

Which sport does Bond play against Auric Goldfinger, who tries to cheat him?

Bond wins at golf by tricking the cheating Goldfinger into playing the wrong ball on the last hole, with a bar of Nazi gold as bait.

Which singer recorded the theme songs for three James Bond films?

Shirley Bassey's first Bond theme became the only US top-40 hit of her long career, peaking at No. 8 in 1965.

Which pop star sang a Bond theme and appeared in the same film as a fencing instructor?

Madonna's cameo as fencing coach Verity won her a Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actress.

Which director helmed both the James Bond films 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre'?

Sam Mendes had directed Daniel Craig in Road to Perdition, and Skyfall went on to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.

Which band's debut single came out the day Dr No premiered?

The Beatles released Love Me Do on 5 October 1962, the same day Dr No premiered at the London Pavilion.

In Moonraker, which billionaire industrialist, whose company builds space shuttles for NASA, plans to wipe out humanity and repopulate Earth from orbit?

Hugo Drax owns Drax Industries, the firm building NASA's shuttles, and means to gas humanity from his space station before repopulating Earth with his chosen few.

Which Bond film ends with a battle inside the volcano base where Blofeld hides a spaceship-snatching rocket?

You Only Live Twice ends in Blofeld's volcano base, a Ken Adam set where SPECTRE is hired by a great power to start a Soviet-American war.

Which actor played James Bond only once in the Eon Productions series?

George Lazenby quit after one film because his agent convinced him the secret agent would seem archaic in the liberated 1970s.

What is the name of the CIA agent who is often an ally to James Bond?

Felix Leiter is fed to a shark in one of Fleming's novels and survives, with a note pinned to him: 'He disagreed with something that ate him.'

Who sang the theme song for the Bond film Skyfall?

Adele's Skyfall became the first Bond theme to win the Oscar for Best Original Song, a prize every earlier Bond song had missed.

Which actress played Tracy di Vicenzo, the countess who marries James Bond?

Brigitte Bardot was approached first but chose the western Shalako instead, so Diana Rigg, fresh from playing Emma Peel in The Avengers, took the part.

Which villain runs the heroin operation in the 1973 Bond film set in Harlem and on the island of San Monique?

Dr. Kananga doubles as the Harlem drug lord Mr. Big, whose plan is to give away two tons of heroin for free to bankrupt his rivals and corner the market.

What is the nationality of the actor Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond?

Irish-born Pierce Brosnan was offered Bond in 1986, but NBC renewed Remington Steele and held him to his contract.

Which James Bond film features an invisible car gadget?

Die Another Day, the twentieth Eon Bond film, gave 007 an invisible Aston Martin V12 Vanquish for Brosnan's 2002 farewell.

Which letter is the code name of the MI6 officer who supplies Bond's gadgets?

Q stands for quartermaster, and Desmond Llewelyn, who played him in 17 films, had been a prisoner of war at Colditz Castle.

Which drink is James Bond famous for ordering shaken rather than stirred?

On screen, Bond's vodka martini catchphrase is first spoken by the villain in Dr No; Bond only says it himself in Goldfinger, ordering just 'a martini'.

Which actress played Pussy Galore, leader of the all-female Flying Circus pilots?

Honor Blackman already threw villains with judo as Cathy Gale in The Avengers, and Pussy Galore flips Bond with judo too.

Which actor is known for playing the henchman Jaws in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' and 'Moonraker'?

Richard Kiel said Jaws's steel teeth were so painful that he could keep them in only briefly at a time.

Which Bond villain, a reclusive shipping tycoon, plans nuclear war and a new civilisation under the sea?

Karl Stromberg plans to fire stolen submarines' nuclear missiles at Moscow and New York, then ride out the war in his undersea base, Atlantis.

After Bernard Lee died in 1981, which actor took over as M starting with 'Octopussy'?

Robert Brown had played Admiral Hargreaves in an earlier Bond film, and Bond scholars think his M is that admiral, promoted.

In 'Casino Royale' (2006), what game does James Bond play against Le Chiffre?

Bond and Le Chiffre play Texas hold 'em poker, replacing the baccarat of Fleming's original 1953 novel.

Where does the opening sequence of the Bond film Spectre take place?

Mexico City had no real Day of the Dead parade until 2016, when authorities staged one inspired by the film's opening.

Which pop artist performed the theme song for 'No Time to Die'?

Billie Eilish was still a teenager when she recorded it, making her the youngest artist ever to sing a Bond theme.

Which pet does Blofeld stroke while his face stays hidden in the early Bond films?

A white cat: Blofeld's Persian was so iconic that Austin Powers spoofed it with Dr. Evil's cat, Mr. Bigglesworth.

Which martial-arts star played Chinese agent Wai Lin opposite Pierce Brosnan's Bond?

Michelle Yeoh, Bond's kung-fu equal as Wai Lin, later became the first Asian winner of the Oscar for Best Actress.

Which composer won libel cases over claims that John Barry really wrote the James Bond Theme?

Monty Norman wrote the theme and John Barry arranged it; Norman's last libel win came against The Sunday Times in 2001.

Which From Russia with Love villain hides a poisoned blade in her shoe?

Rosa Klebb was played by Lotte Lenya, who had created the role of Jenny in the first production of The Threepenny Opera.

In which city does 'Casino Royale' (2006) open, with Bond earning his 00 status?

Prague's black-and-white opening shows Bond making the kills that earn his double-0 status, before the film switches to colour.

Which royal did Daniel Craig's Bond escort in a short film for the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony?

Queen Elizabeth II played herself, greeting Bond with 'Good evening, Mr Bond', before a stuntman dressed as her jumped from a helicopter above the stadium.

Which gadget does Bond strap on to fly to safety in Thunderball's opening scene?

The jetpack Bond flies in Thunderball was a real, working Bell Rocket Belt, not a special effect.

Who plays Alec Trevelyan, 006, Bond's ally turned enemy in 'GoldenEye'?

Sean Bean's Trevelyan fakes his own execution, then returns nine years later, scarred, as Janus, the crime boss Bond is hunting.

Which actor plays Gareth Mallory, who takes over as M at the end of 'Skyfall'?

Ralph Fiennes's Mallory had chaired Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee and served as an army lieutenant colonel before running MI6.

In the 1967 film where American and Soviet spacecraft vanish, which country is Bond sent to?

Japan's real Shinmoedake volcano, on Kyushu, played the mountain hiding the villains' secret rocket base.

What is the title of the James Bond theme song performed by Paul McCartney and Wings?

Live and Let Die earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song but lost to Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were.

Octopussy's floating palace was filmed at a real luxury hotel in which country?

India's Lake Palace in Udaipur, a former royal summer palace now run as a hotel, played Octopussy's home.

In Thunderball, which cargo does SPECTRE steal by hijacking an RAF Vulcan jet during a training exercise?

Two NATO atomic bombs are the haul, and SPECTRE demands £100 million or it will destroy a major city, later revealed to be Miami.

Which Paris landmark does Bond henchwoman May Day parachute from after a killing?

May Day kills Bond's contact over dinner in the Eiffel Tower's restaurant, then escapes by leaping off the tower with a parachute.

Which James Bond film sees Bond marry for the first time in the Eon series?

On Her Majesty's Secret Service ends in tragedy when Blofeld and Irma Bunt machine-gun the newlyweds' car as they drive off, killing Tracy.

Which rock singer recorded You Know My Name, the theme for Daniel Craig's first Bond film?

Chris Cornell co-wrote the song with composer David Arnold and kept the film's title out of the lyrics, breaking a long Bond-song habit.

Which actor played Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun?

Christopher Lee was Ian Fleming's step-cousin, and Fleming had suggested him to play Dr No before the producers cast someone else.

Which comedian spoofed Bond as the bumbling spy Johnny English?

Rowan Atkinson had already been in a real, if unofficial, Bond film, playing a Foreign Office man in the Bahamas.

Which tarot-reading psychic loses her powers after sleeping with Bond?

Solitaire, played by Jane Seymour, knows that losing her gift puts her in danger from the villain who employs her.

Which stolen painting hangs in Dr No's lair as a joke about a real art theft?

Goya's Duke of Wellington had vanished from London's National Gallery shortly before filming, so its cameo hinted Dr No was the thief.

Which Italian city's famous bareback horse race is woven into a chase in Quantum of Solace?

Siena's Palio, a bareback race around the Piazza del Campo, was filmed for real with fourteen cameras and cut into Bond's chase.

Ian Fleming took 007's name from the author of a field guide he used for which hobby?

Birdwatching was Fleming's hobby in Jamaica, and his copy of Birds of the West Indies by ornithologist James Bond supplied the name.

Which children's book did James Bond creator Ian Fleming write as a bedtime story for his son?

Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, about a car that sprouts wings and flies, came out two months after Fleming died in 1964.

Which WWII deception, a corpse carrying fake plans, grew from an idea in a memo linked to Ian Fleming?

Operation Mincemeat floated a dead man carrying fake invasion plans off Spain in 1943, steering German eyes away from Sicily.

Which playwright did Ian Fleming want to play the title role in Dr No?

Noël Coward, Fleming's friend and neighbour in Jamaica, turned down the part with a reply that began 'No, no, no'.

Roughly how many copies have Ian Fleming's Bond books sold worldwide?

About 100 million copies sold puts Fleming's Bond stories among the best-selling fiction series of all time.

Which author wrote the Bond novel published in 2023 to mark the new king's coronation?

Charlie Higson had already written the first five Young Bond novels, about 007's schooldays at Eton, before this adult Bond book.

Which actor first played Bond on screen, as an American agent on 1954 live TV?

Barry Nelson's Bond was an American agent some characters call 'Jimmy', broadcast live by CBS in October 1954.

Roughly how much have the Eon Bond films grossed at the box office in total?

About $8 billion in unadjusted box office makes Bond the fifth-highest-grossing film series to date.

Bond's father Andrew Bond came from which Scottish village, according to Fleming?

Glencoe is where Fleming placed Bond's father, Andrew, after Sean Connery's casting nudged him toward giving Bond Scottish roots.

Why was the literary Bond expelled from Eton?

Trouble with a maid cut Bond's Eton career short after two halves, so he was sent to Fettes College, his father's old school.

Which musician did Fleming say Bond resembled facially?

Hoagy Carmichael is who both René Mathis and Vesper Lynd say Bond resembles in Fleming's first novel, though Bond himself disagrees.

Roughly how many cigarettes a day does Ian Fleming's Bond smoke?

Sixty a day, by M's medical file, is part of why Bond gets packed off to a health clinic in the novel Thunderball.

What nickname did Bond producer Albert Broccoli go by?

Cubby was the nickname his cousin, producer Pat DiCicco, gave Albert R. Broccoli, and it stuck through all his Bond films.

Who created the gun-barrel opening and title sequences for Dr No?

Maurice Binder first tried filming through a real gun barrel, and a pinhole camera fixed the focus so the whole barrel looked crystal clear.

Which country hosted location filming for From Russia with Love?

Turkey's Istanbul shoot was cut short when co-star Pedro Armendáriz was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so his scenes were rushed forward.

Which director helmed four Bond films, starting with Goldfinger?

Guy Hamilton was asked back to direct For Your Eyes Only, but a cash-strapped United Artists could not afford his salary.

Which toy company made the James Bond Aston Martin DB5 die-cast car that won the first British Toy of the Year award?

Corgi's DB5 had an ejector seat that fired a passenger through a roof panel, and demand outran the factory for Christmas 1965.

Which actress appeared painted gold on the cover of Life to promote Goldfinger?

Shirley Eaton's gold-painted death scene as Jill Masterson started an urban myth that the actress herself had died during filming.

Thunderball was the first Bond film with what technical distinction?

Thunderball was the first Bond film shot in widescreen Panavision, and also the first to run over two hours.

Which author wrote the screenplay for Eon Productions' 1967 James Bond film?

Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, had worked alongside Ian Fleming in wartime and had never finished a screenplay before.

Which actor was the first to show Blofeld's face on screen in an Eon Bond film?

Donald Pleasence replaced Czech actor Jan Werich, whom the director and producer judged not menacing enough, more a benevolent Father Christmas.

Which actor played Blofeld in the 1969 Bond film set at the Piz Gloria allergy clinic?

Telly Savalas's Blofeld threatens to spread a virus that makes crops and livestock infertile unless the world grants him a pardon.

Producer Albert Broccoli cast the Australian model who played Bond in 1969 after seeing him advertise what?

Broccoli spotted him in a Fry's chocolate commercial, and the model dressed the part in a Savile Row suit Connery had ordered but never collected.

Blofeld's plot in Diamonds Are Forever uses the gems to build what?

Blofeld's space-based laser weapon destroys nuclear installations in the US, Soviet Union and China before he proposes an auction for global nuclear supremacy.

Which actress played Rosie Carver, the first African American Bond girl romantically involved with 007?

Gloria Hendry's Rosie Carver came two years after Trina Parks's Thumper, who fought Bond rather than romancing him.

Which producer sold his stake in the Bond franchise after The Man with the Golden Gun?

Harry Saltzman's money troubles forced him to sell his half of the Bond parent company to United Artists in 1975.

Which Soviet agent teams up with Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me?

Anya Amasova, KGB Agent Triple X, vows to kill Bond once their mission ends after learning he killed her lover on the mountain.

Which composer scored The Spy Who Loved Me?

Marvin Hamlisch wrote the music for 'Nobody Does It Better', and both the song and his score earned Academy Award nominations.

Which film's success prompted the producers to make Moonraker instead of For Your Eyes Only?

The previous film's end credits promised For Your Eyes Only next, but Star Wars revived science fiction, so the producers sent Bond into space.

Moonraker was primarily shot in which country because of budget problems?

Moonraker was shot mainly in France because of budget problems, and Pinewood's soundstages were used only by the special effects team.

Which singer performed the title theme for For Your Eyes Only?

Sheena Easton was the first Bond theme singer seen performing in a film's opening titles, and the song earned an Oscar nomination.

Which exiled Afghan prince does Louis Jourdan play in Octopussy?

Kamal Khan helps the rogue Soviet general Orlov in exchange for jewels stolen from the Kremlin, with Maud Adams's Octopussy as his associate.

Which region does Christopher Walken's Max Zorin plan to destroy in Moore's last Bond film?

Max Zorin plans to flood Silicon Valley by triggering an earthquake along its fault lines, giving him a monopoly on microchips.

Which is the only Bond theme to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

A View to a Kill came about after Duran Duran bassist John Taylor drunkenly asked Albert Broccoli at a party if he could write a theme.

Which actress replaced Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny in The Living Daylights?

Caroline Bliss's first screen role was Princess Diana in a 1982 TV film, and Samantha Bond replaced her as Moneypenny in GoldenEye.

Which was the first Eon Bond film with an original title rather than one taken from an Ian Fleming story?

Licence to Kill was originally titled Licence Revoked, and it was the last of the five Bond films John Glen directed in a row.

Why was the 1989 Bond film retitled from Licence Revoked before release?

US viewers linked it to driving: American test screenings showed 'Licence Revoked' was a common phrase for losing a driving licence, so MGM changed it.

GoldenEye was the inaugural production shot at which studio?

Pinewood was booked, so GoldenEye's crew turned an old Rolls-Royce engine factory at Leavesden Aerodrome into Leavesden Studios.

Who directed GoldenEye, the film that ended the Bond series' six-year legal hiatus?

Martin Campbell passed on more Bond films after GoldenEye, agreeing to return only with a new star, and he later launched Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.

Which actor played media tycoon Elliot Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies?

Jonathan Pryce's Elliot Carver is a media baron who tries to start a war between Britain and China to win broadcasting rights there.

Which blockbuster kept Tomorrow Never Dies from opening at number one?

Titanic opened the same day, so Tomorrow Never Dies finished second and became the only Brosnan Bond film not to open at No. 1.

'The World Is Not Enough' is the translation of what?

The Bond family motto, Orbis non sufficit, belonged to Sir Thomas Bond, the spy's supposed real-world ancestor, and Spain's Philip II used it too.

Which agency employs Halle Berry's character Jinx in the 2002 Bond film?

Jinx is an NSA agent, and her emergence from the sea in a bikini pays homage to Ursula Andress in Dr. No.

Which director was first announced for Quantum of Solace before leaving over script delays?

Roger Michell: after he left, a writers' strike cut off work on the script, so Daniel Craig and the director rewrote scenes themselves.

Dominic Greene's plot in Quantum of Solace targets which country's freshwater supply?

Dominic Greene poses as an environmentalist while backing a coup in Bolivia, in exchange for land that lets him control its water supply.

Which actor plays villain Raoul Silva in Skyfall?

Javier Bardem's Silva is a former MI6 agent who turned cyberterrorist after his chief gave him up to the Chinese in 1997.

Which director turned down an offer to direct Spectre, the 2015 Bond film?

Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish director of Drive, later revealed that he had turned down the chance to direct Spectre.

Which long legal controversy ended with SPECTRE's return in the 2015 Bond film?

The Thunderball dispute began when Kevin McClory sued Ian Fleming in 1961, and the settlement gave him the novel's film rights, SPECTRE included.

Which director originally attached to No Time to Die left over creative differences?

Danny Boyle left in August 2018 over a dispute about the script, and Cary Joji Fukunaga was announced as his replacement a month later.

Which writer joined the No Time to Die screenplay team alongside Purvis, Wade and Fukunaga?

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of Fleabag, was brought in at Daniel Craig's request to polish the dialogue and add humour.

Which actress plays new 00 agent Nomi in No Time to Die?

Lashana Lynch's Nomi takes over the 007 number while Bond is retired, making her the first Black woman to hold it on screen.

The 1983 non-Eon Bond film's title refers to what?

Connery's vow to quit the role in 1971 gave the film its title, which his wife suggested when he agreed to play Bond again.

Who directed the 1983 Bond film made outside Eon Productions' official series?

Irvin Kershner's film opened bigger in the US than Eon's Octopussy that year, yet earned less overall.

Which actor played 'Sir James Bond' in the 1967 spoof Casino Royale?

David Niven had been Ian Fleming's choice to play Bond in Dr. No, and the spoof finally cast him as the retired 'original' Sir James Bond.

Sean Connery won his Academy Award for which 1987 film?

The Untouchables made Connery the first Scottish actor to win a major Oscar, Best Supporting Actor, as the street-wise cop Jim Malone.

What was Sean Connery's first job in Edinburgh?

Connery's first job, as a milkman for an Edinburgh co-operative, paid just over £1 a week, as his rediscovered employment record showed.

Which Western character did Roger Moore play after replacing James Garner as the lead of a TV series?

Beau Maverick was the brothers' English-accented cousin, and Moore found Garner's name scratched out on his costume tags.

Roger Moore was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for which organization in 1991?

Roger Moore became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in August 1991, and he was knighted in 2003 for services to charity.

Which 1996 drama serial gave Daniel Craig his breakthrough role?

Daniel Craig played troubled Geordie Peacock in Our Friends in the North, the BBC serial that also helped establish the careers of Christopher Eccleston and Mark Strong.

Which DC hero did Pierce Brosnan play in Black Adam (2022)?

Pierce Brosnan's Doctor Fate foresees Hawkman's death and sacrifices himself fighting Sabbac alone to prevent it.

Which Time Lord did Timothy Dalton play in Doctor Who?

Rassilon, president of the Time Lords, returned opposite David Tennant's Doctor in the 2009-10 special The End of Time.

Which Monty Python star succeeded Desmond Llewelyn as Bond's gadget master in the Eon films?

John Cleese was introduced as the quartermaster's heir, nicknamed R, shortly before Desmond Llewelyn died in a car crash in 1999.

Which MI6 chief's habit of signing with a green-ink 'C' inspired the letter codenames?

Mansfield Smith-Cumming signed himself 'C', and later MI6 chiefs kept the custom, though the letter now stands for Chief.

What first name was Moneypenny given in Skyfall?

Eve Moneypenny starts Skyfall as an MI6 field agent working alongside Bond, then takes the desk job of secretary to the service's new chief.

Moneypenny was originally named what in Fleming's first draft of Casino Royale?

Miss 'Petty' Pettaval came from Kathleen Pettigrew, the senior MI6 secretary who worked for chiefs including Stewart Menzies.

Which special effects expert modified the DB5 for Goldfinger?

John Stears later won an Academy Award for Thunderball's visual effects, and he went on to build the robots R2-D2 and C-3PO.

Roughly how much did one of the Aston Martin DB5s driven in Goldfinger sell for at a 2010 auction?

$4.6 million bought the car at RM Auctions in London, and the same DB5 had also been driven by Connery in Thunderball.

As of 2025, which two Bond themes have topped the UK chart?

Writing's on the Wall and No Time to Die both debuted at number one in the UK, and both went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Which singer performed the theme to the 1989 Bond film?

Gladys Knight's theme reached number six in the UK but never entered the US Billboard Hot 100, and it was her last UK solo chart hit.

Who sang John Barry's 1969 Bond love song?

Louis Armstrong sang 'We Have All the Time in the World', with lyrics by Hal David, and his recording returned decades later in No Time to Die.

Which two film scores earned John Barry both an Oscar and a Grammy?

Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves each won John Barry both prizes, and he won five Oscars in all.

Ian Fleming's Jamaican estate sits on which bay?

Oracabessa Bay is where Fleming wrote all his Bond stories, and the nearby Ian Fleming International Airport opened in 2011.

Which holding company was the parent of Eon Productions, the Bond films' producer?

Danjaq blends the first names of the producers' wives, Dana and Jacqueline, and it was first registered in Switzerland as Danjaq S.A.

Which two Bond girls appeared on screen before Ursula Andress in the first Eon Bond film?

Eunice Gayson and Zena Marshall played Sylvia Trench, planned as Bond's recurring girlfriend, and Miss Taro, a double agent for Dr. No.

Under what pseudonym did Kingsley Amis write the 1968 continuation novel Colonel Sun?

Robert Markham was meant to be a house name for all future Bond authors, but Colonel Sun was the only novel published under it.

Which company bought MGM, and with it the Bond film library, in a deal that closed in March 2022?

Amazon paid $8.45 billion, and in 2025 it spent about $1 billion more to take creative control of Bond from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.

Which company published James Bond 007, the first Bond video game to get a worldwide release?

Parker Brothers scrapped an earlier Octopussy tie-in version, and James Bond 007 finally came out in May 1984.

Which pistol did the literary Bond carry in the first five novels, until a gun expert called it 'a lady's gun'?

Gun expert Geoffrey Boothroyd called Bond's .25 Beretta 'a lady's gun', so Fleming switched Bond to a Walther PPK and named MI6's armourer after him.

Which British sports car converts into a submarine after a road chase in the 1977 James Bond film with Roger Moore?

The Lotus Esprit used for the underwater scenes, nicknamed Wet Nellie, was bought by Elon Musk in 2013.

Which physical oddity identifies the assassin Francisco Scaramanga, a trait James Bond fakes to pose as him?

A third nipple is the only thing anyone knows about Scaramanga's appearance, so Bond sticks on a fake one to bluff his way into a tycoon's estate.

Which American singer recorded Nobody Does It Better, the theme song of Roger Moore's 1977 James Bond film?

Carly Simon made it her longest-charting hit, and it was the first Bond theme since Dr. No not to share its film's title.

Which watch brand did James Bond switch to in GoldenEye, replacing the Rolex Submariner of earlier films?

Omega was picked by costume designer Lindy Hemming, who wanted Pierce Brosnan's Bond to look more modern and European.

Which American singer performed the GoldenEye theme song, written for the Bond film by U2's Bono and the Edge?

Tina Turner stepped in after Depeche Mode, the producers' first choice, could not fit the recording around the end of a tour.

Which German pistol became James Bond's trademark sidearm when Ian Fleming rearmed him in the novel Dr. No?

The Walther PPK was chosen on the advice of firearms expert Geoffrey Boothroyd, and Bond's fame made the pistol itself notorious.

Which actress plays Moneypenny opposite Daniel Craig's James Bond, starting out as a field agent in Skyfall?

Naomie Harris's Moneypenny accidentally shoots Bond off the roof of a moving train, then retires from fieldwork to become M's secretary.

Which English singer won an Academy Award for the theme song of Spectre, the 2015 James Bond film?

Sam Smith co-wrote the song with Jimmy Napes, and its Oscar made it the second Bond theme in a row to win.

Which Buckinghamshire film lot houses the 007 Stage, built to hold a supertanker set for a 1977 James Bond film?

Pinewood Studios gained the 007 Stage when the production designer needed room for a supertanker's interior, and it remains one of the world's largest sound stages.

What does the title of Skyfall refer to, the place where James Bond makes his last stand against Raoul Silva?

His childhood home, a remote lodge in the Scottish Highlands, is where Bond drives M in the old Aston Martin DB5 to draw Silva out.

Which singer and model played May Day, bodyguard and lover of the villain Max Zorin, opposite Roger Moore's Bond?

Grace Jones was suggested for the part by Barbara Bach, who had starred opposite Roger Moore's Bond eight years earlier.

Which actor plays Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre, revealed as the son of James Bond's boyhood guardian?

Christoph Waltz enters the film as Franz Oberhauser, a surname borrowed from a background character in one of Ian Fleming's short stories.

Which actress played Xenia Onatopp, the GoldenEye assassin who crushes her victims between her thighs?

Famke Janssen's Onatopp is also a fighter pilot, and her first kill in the film is an admiral lured onto a yacht off Monte Carlo.

Which singer joined Jack White on Another Way to Die, the Quantum of Solace theme and the first Bond duet?

Alicia Keys supplied vocals only: Jack White wrote and produced the song and played its guitar, piano and drums himself.

Which forged treasure does a dying 009, dressed as a circus clown, deliver at the start of Roger Moore's 1983 Bond film?

A Fabergé egg, the real one, then goes to auction in London, and MI6 sends Bond along to identify the seller.

Which fictional trading firm serves as the British Secret Service's cover name in the James Bond films?

Universal Exports turns up across the films as a running detail, on a brass name plate in one and on Bond's helicopter in another.

Which English session guitarist played the famous twanging riff on the original recording of the James Bond Theme?

Vic Flick played it on a Clifford Essex Paragon De Luxe, a guitar later put on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Which country is home to Khao Phing Kan, the limestone islet nicknamed James Bond Island after a 1974 film?

Thailand's Phang Nga Bay, northeast of Phuket, supplied the villain's hideout, and the islet has been popularly called James Bond Island ever since.

Which production designer made his name with futuristic James Bond villain lairs and the War Room in Dr. Strangelove?

Ken Adam's supertanker set for one 1977 Bond film was built in what was then the largest soundstage in the world.

Which Rio de Janeiro peak's cable car is the scene of James Bond's fight with steel-toothed Jaws in Moonraker?

Sugarloaf Mountain nearly cost a life: a stuntman slipped during the midair sequence and narrowly avoided falling to his death.

Which naval rank does James Bond hold in Ian Fleming's novels, having ended the Second World War with it?

Commander is where Bond finished the war, having joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a lieutenant in 1941.

Which card game does James Bond play to bankrupt Le Chiffre in Ian Fleming's original novel Casino Royale?

Baccarat was so unfamiliar to Americans that the 1954 television version opened with a short tutorial from its presenter.

Which Soviet agency, named from the Russian for 'death to spies', is James Bond's enemy in Fleming's early novels?

SMERSH was a real Red Army counter-intelligence body whose name Stalin coined, though Fleming later swapped it for the invented SPECTRE.

Which gold-plated object did Ian Fleming buy himself as a reward for finishing the first draft of Casino Royale?

A typewriter: the gold-plated Royal Quiet Deluxe portable came from a New York dealer, and Fleming wrote the rest of his Bond books on it.

Which woman does James Bond name his own cocktail recipe after in Ian Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale?

Vesper Lynd lends her name to a drink Bond invents himself, built on three measures of Gordon's gin and half a measure of Kina Lillet.

Which British marque built the supercharged 1930 convertible that James Bond drives in Ian Fleming's first three novels?

Bentley made Bond's battleship-grey Blower, one of the last of its kind built, long before the films put him in an Aston Martin.

Which British thriller writer wrote fourteen James Bond continuation novels between 1981 and 1996?

John Gardner had form: his earlier novel The Liquidator was a Bond parody about a cowardly man recruited as a British spy by mistake.

How were James Bond's parents killed when he was eleven, in the backstory Ian Fleming gave him in the novels?

A climbing accident in the Aiguilles Rouges near Chamonix orphaned him, and he was sent to live with his aunt Charmian in the village of Pett Bottom.

Which wartime British department recruited Ian Fleming in 1939 as personal assistant to its director, John Godfrey?

Naval Intelligence Division work gave Fleming his raw material: he helped plan Operation Goldeneye and oversaw the intelligence-gathering 30 Assault Unit.

Which creator of teenage spy Alex Rider wrote the Bond novel Trigger Mortis using unpublished Ian Fleming material?

Anthony Horowitz built the opening chapter on Murder on Wheels, a story Fleming had outlined for a television series that was never filmed.

Which American site is the target of Operation Grand Slam, Auric Goldfinger's scheme in Sean Connery's third Bond film?

Fort Knox is to be irradiated with a dirty bomb rather than robbed, so that Goldfinger's own bullion will skyrocket in value.

Which shell diver, played by Ursula Andress, walks out of the sea in a white bikini in Dr. No?

Honey Ryder speaks with another woman's voice: Andress's lines were dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl because of the actress's heavy accent.

Which Aston Martin DB5 gadget in Goldfinger was suggested by the director's stepson, who had seen one on television?

An ejector seat joined the car's arsenal late: the script gave the DB5 only a smoke screen until the crew began suggesting extras.

Which American city do James Bond and Tiffany Case flee through by Ford Mustang in Diamonds Are Forever?

Las Vegas hosts the chase in a 1971 Mustang Mach 1, and Ford's only demand of the production was that Sean Connery be the one driving it.

Which island country supplied most of Thunderball's locations, including the villa used as Emilio Largo's estate?

Bahamas locations included a local millionaire couple's home, which became Largo's estate Palmyra, and about a quarter of the film takes place underwater.

Which creature crawls over Sean Connery's Bond in bed in Dr. No, replacing the centipede of Ian Fleming's novel?

A tarantula was first filmed with a sheet of glass protecting Connery; unhappy with the result, the director reshot it crawling over a stuntman.

Which German actor played Auric Goldfinger, speaking his lines phonetically because he knew little English?

Gert Fröbe delivered the lines too slowly, so TV actor Michael Collins redubbed the villain's voice for the finished film.

Which bodybuilding contest did Sean Connery enter in the early 1950s, a decade before he became James Bond?

Mr. Universe records for Connery are disputed: his own website claimed third place, while most accounts put him third in the Junior class or unplaced among the tall men.

What did Sean Connery do with his fee for returning as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever?

Founded a Scottish charity: the Scottish International Education Trust funds artists so that they need not leave the country to pursue their careers.

Which stuntman, not Sean Connery, is the silhouetted gunman in the gun-barrel opening of the first three Bond films?

Bob Simmons hops slightly as he turns to fire, and he went on to coordinate the stunts on most Bond films until his death in 1987.

Which actor made his James Bond debut in The Living Daylights, the first Eon film after Roger Moore left the series?

Timothy Dalton won the part after a long search in which the producers almost cast Pierce Brosnan, who had to wait until the 1990s.

Which film was the second in the Eon James Bond series, made after United Artists doubled the budget of Dr. No?

From Russia with Love introduced the pre-title sequence and a secret-weapon gadget for Bond, both of which became fixtures of the series.

Which film was Pierce Brosnan's second as James Bond, released two years after his debut in GoldenEye?

Tomorrow Never Dies is dedicated to the memory of Albert R. Broccoli, and its opening credits were reworded to keep the late producer's name on screen.

Which film was Pierce Brosnan's third as James Bond and the last of the series released in the twentieth century?

The World Is Not Enough sends Bond racing down the Thames to the Millennium Dome, and it was the first Eon entry released under the MGM label.

Which film, the tenth in the Eon series, was Roger Moore's third outing as James Bond?

The Spy Who Loved Me shares only its title with Ian Fleming's novel, itself his tenth Bond book: the film uses none of its plot.

Which director made Dr. No and its 1963 sequel, the first two James Bond films, then returned for Thunderball?

Terence Young already knew his star: he had directed a young Sean Connery in a supporting role in the 1957 film Action of the Tiger.

Which former Bond film editor went on to direct all five Eon James Bond films released during the 1980s?

John Glen learned his trade in the cutting rooms of Shepperton Studios in the late 1940s, on films such as The Third Man.

Which editor of the earliest James Bond films was promoted to direct the sixth entry in the series, released in 1969?

Peter Hunt had asked to direct the previous film and quit in protest when passed over, staying on only with the promise of a future promotion.

Which American screenwriter worked on thirteen of the first sixteen Eon James Bond films, beginning with Dr. No?

Richard Maibaum reached producer Albert Broccoli through Alan Ladd, who insisted on him as co-writer of the films he made for Broccoli's Warwick company.

Which composer scored five consecutive James Bond films, from Pierce Brosnan's second to Daniel Craig's second?

David Arnold got the job on the recommendation of veteran Bond composer John Barry, who had admired his album of reworked Bond themes.