32 Facts You Didn’t Know About James Bond

The release of the newest film in the James Bond franchise, Spectre starring Daniel Craig as the infamous Agent 007, is upon us. American audiences have been eagerly awaiting the opening of this soon to be box office mega hit, waiting with bated breath to see what our favorite secret agent has up his sleeve. But how well do we really know James Bond? We did some sleuthing to come up with some of the most interesting factoids about the man—and the legend—James Bond, 007.

32 Facts You Didn’t Know About James Bond

1. The James Bond movie franchise is 53 years old.
2. Twenty-four James Bond films have made it to the big screen so far—Dr. No (1962) being the first, Spectre releases 11/6/2015.
3. Seven actors have played 007 (though technically there are nine screen Bonds). They include Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.
4. On average, Bond has a drink every 10 minutes, 53 seconds.
5. The famous “opening scene” gun barrel sequence was created using a round price-tag sticker.
6. Pierce Brosnan was married to Bond girl Cassandra Harris long before taking the role of 007.
7. Skyfall won five Oscars in 2012 (more than any other Bond film).
8. The gun made popular by James Bond, the Walther PPK, is the same model that Hitler used to kill himself.
9. Pierce Brosnan has killed the most people playing the role of James Bond with a total of 135.
10. The five pilots flying the planes in Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus in Goldfinger were actually men wearing blonde wigs.
11. The chain “Jaws” bit through in The Spy Who Loved Me was made of licorice.
12. All the actors who played James Bond in the past have been 6’1” to 6’2”, except Daniel Craig who is 5’10”.
13. Roger Moore had a “running body double” for all of his films as he was self-conscious about his awkward run.
14. Goldfinger was the first Bond film to feature Bond driving an Aston Martin.
15. Sean Connery wore a toupee in each of his Bond films.
16. Cary Grant was offered the role of James Bond—he declined saying he was too old for the role.
17. George Lazenby is generally regarded as the “least liked” 007.
18. Smirnoff paid to have their vodka (not gin) promoted in Dr. No.
19. Bond has bedded over four dozen women on screen; two-thirds of which have tried to kill him.
20. Roger Moore suffers from hoplophobia, or a fear of firearms (perhaps he should have considered a different day job).
21. One of the Bond girls was transsexual. Caroline Cossey was actually born as Barry Kenneth Cossey.
22. James Bond’s drink of choice—martini shaken not stirred—has approximately 130 calories, which on average is what men burn during one romp in the hay.
23. 007 has been shot at approximately 5,000 times during his career as an agent.
24. James Bond’s card game of choice is actually baccarat (not poker as many assume).
25. You Only Live Twice is the only James Bond movie where he does not drive a car.
26. Over 15 BMWs were destroyed in the making of Tomorrow Never Dies.
27. The cast of Skyfall went through 200,000 rounds of ammunition during weapons training.
28. The existence of MI6, the agency with which James Bond works for in the movies, wasn’t officially acknowledged by the British government until 1994.
29. Bond was 38 years old when he became a 00 agent.
30. James Bond is a heavy smoker, once smoking 70 cigarettes a day. That equals 3.5 packs per day. The last time Bond smoked in a film was Die Another Day, in which he lit up a cigar. Daniel Craig has yet to smoke in a Bond film.
31. Bond was born in Germany to a Scottish father and Swiss mother (both killed in a mountain climbing accident that orphaned him at age 11).
32. Daniel Craig became the first actor to portray the role of Bond who is younger than the whole series.

“A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.”

For movie showings of Spectre in your local area and tickets, check out Fandango.

*some facts courtesy of time.com, IrishExaminer.com, Buzzfeed.com, OMGfacts.com, Wikipedia.