60 free Hard James Bond trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
These hard James Bond trivia questions are for fans who already know the six Eon Bonds and want the deep cuts: Ian Fleming's Room 39 codename and the Caribbean bird expert whose name he borrowed, the 1954 TV Bond who came before Connery, why Kevin McClory owned Thunderball, the recast Blofeld, the Vesper recipe, Ken Adam's million-dollar volcano and the legal fight over the James Bond Theme. They cover every era from Dr. No to No Time to Die, plus the Amazon MGM takeover that decides where 007 goes next. The easiest questions here would be the hardest on a general Bond quiz: which actor played Q in 17 films, which theme was the first nominated for an Oscar, which one alone hit number one in America. The hard ones want the step-cousin who played Scaramanga, the man who wrote You Only Live Twice's screenplay and the trick that turned a Lotus into a submarine. If you want a warm-up, start with our main James Bond trivia (brainpickle.app/quiz/a/james-bond) or the theme songs quiz (brainpickle.app/quiz/a/james-bond-theme-songs). Every answer has been checked against a reference encyclopaedia, and each question shows its explanation and citation once you have answered.
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Q 01Ian Fleming worked in Naval Intelligence during World War II under which codename?
17F
He was personal assistant to Rear Admiral John Godfrey and worked out of Room 39 at the Admiralty.
Q 02Fleming took the name James Bond from an American expert on what?
Caribbean birds
Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, owned Bond's field guide Birds of the West Indies and called it 'the dullest name I ever heard'.
Q 03Fleming helped plan which wartime operation, whose name he later reused for his Jamaican estate?
Goldeneye
He was also involved with two intelligence commando units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force.
Q 04Fleming's Bond novels number twelve, plus how many short-story collections?
Two
Casino Royale was the first novel, published in 1953, and Fleming died in 1964 aged 56.
Q 05Which children's book did Ian Fleming write, published in 1964?
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang
The 1968 film version was produced by Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli, with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl.
Q 06Who played Bond in the 1954 CBS television adaptation of Fleming's first novel?
Barry Nelson
He was an American 'Jimmy Bond' in an episode of the anthology series Climax!, for which CBS paid Fleming $1,000.
Q 07Which firearms expert advised Fleming to switch Bond from a Beretta to the Walther PPK?
Geoffrey Boothroyd
Fleming made the change in Dr. No (1958) and named the armourer 'Major Boothroyd' in thanks.
Q 08Who directed Dr. No, the first Eon Bond film?
Terence Young
Released by United Artists in October 1962, it was made on a low budget with Ken Adam creating the series' visual style.
Q 09Whose Thunderball legal battle with Fleming led to the non-Eon film Never Say Never Again?
Kevin McClory
The screenplay was first called Longitude 78 West; Fleming novelised it as Thunderball in 1961 without crediting his collaborators.
Q 10Which screenwriter, better known for children's books, wrote You Only Live Twice?
Roald Dahl
It was only loosely based on Fleming's 1964 novel and features Blofeld's volcano lair.
Q 11Ken Adam's volcano lair set for You Only Live Twice cost about $1 million and was, at the time, what?
The biggest film set in Europe
The whole film's budget was $10.3 million; Adam skipped From Russia with Love to build Kubrick's war room for Dr. Strangelove.
Q 12Which actor was first cast as Blofeld in You Only Live Twice before Donald Pleasence replaced him?
Jan Werich
After five days the director and Broccoli decided he was not menacing enough, blaming illness for the recast.
Q 13Nancy Sinatra sang the You Only Live Twice theme after which relative of hers passed on it?
Her father
Q 21Oddjob was played by Harold Sakata, who was also what?
A professional wrestler
The Japanese-American also won an Olympic weightlifting medal; his razor-brimmed bowler hat is the character's signature.
Q 22Rosa Klebb's shoe blade in From Russia with Love is laced with poison from which creature?
Pufferfish
Lotte Lenya played her; the blade was hidden in her shoe after a telephone gun failed.
Q 23Which actor played Q in 17 Eon films opposite the first five Bonds?
Desmond Llewelyn
His last, The World Is Not Enough, introduces John Cleese's R as heir presumptive.
She was so nervous she said she sometimes sounded like Minnie Mouse.
Q 14George Lazenby announced he would only play Bond once on the advice of whom?
His agent
A model with no prior acting credits, he quit before On Her Majesty's Secret Service was even released in December 1969.
Q 15Who sang 'We Have All the Time in the World' for On Her Majesty's Secret Service?
Louis Armstrong
John Barry wrote it with Hal David; Bond marries Tracy (Diana Rigg) in the film.
Q 16Connery returned for Diamonds Are Forever for $1.25 million plus what share of the gross?
12.5%
Eon had already signed John Gavin, but UA chief David Picker insisted on Connery.
Q 17Which producer's plan to shoot The Man with the Golden Gun in Cambodia with Roger Moore collapsed in the 1960s?
Harry Saltzman
Political instability killed the location, Moore signed up for more of The Saint, and the film waited until 1974.
Q 18Christopher Lee, who played Scaramanga, was related to Ian Fleming how?
Step-cousin
Fleming had wanted Lee for Dr. No years earlier; Scaramanga sports a 'superfluous papilla', a third nipple.
Q 19Which two films feature Richard Kiel as the steel-toothed henchman Jaws?
The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker
Jaws was meant to be eaten by a shark, but test audiences liked him so much the ending was changed to let him survive.
Q 20Which billionaire bought 'Wet Nellie', the Lotus Esprit submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me?
Elon Musk
The S1 Esprit converted into a submarine after a road chase; the buyer picked it up at auction in 2013.
Q 24Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny in how many consecutive Eon films, from Dr. No through 1985?
14
The Canadian actress's birth surname was Hooker.
Q 25After Bernard Lee's death, which actor played M from Octopussy through Licence to Kill?
Robert Brown
Lee had played M in the first 11 films; Judi Dench then took over for GoldenEye.
Q 26Which special effects expert modified the Aston Martin DB5 for Goldfinger?
John Stears
It was the first Bond appearance of the DB5, whose Vantage variant was introduced the same year, 1964.
Q 27Bond's Vesper cocktail calls for three measures of Gordon's gin, one of vodka and half a measure of what?
Kina Lillet
Kina Lillet stopped being made in 1986, but Craig's Bond still recites the original recipe in Casino Royale.
Q 28Who designed the gun barrel sequence used in every Eon Bond film?
Maurice Binder
He also created the opening titles of Dr. No in 1962; the sequence has since been reworked but never dropped.
Q 29The James Bond Theme was composed by Monty Norman and arranged for Dr. No by whom?
John Barry
Norman collected royalties on it until his death in 2022; the arranger went on to score eleven Bond films.
Q 30Which is the only Eon Bond film in which the James Bond Theme is not played over the gun barrel sequence?
Casino Royale
It is held back until the very end, when Craig's Bond finally introduces himself; the piece is in E minor.