James Bond: Every Actor Who Has Played M

Super-spy James Bond may be a roguish hero but even he has a boss to answer to, and many memorable actors have taken on the role of iconic MI6 head M over the years of the franchise’s history. With his twenty-fifth outing No Time to Die on the way to cinemas next year, there’s never been a better time to look back at the many cinematic faces of Ian Fleming’s iconic super-spy James Bond.

Whether it’s the campy Pierce Brosnan, the more serious Timothy Dalton, or the recently deceased original Bond Sean Connery, everyone has a favorite version of the slick spy. But Bond would be nothing without his trusty set of colleagues, many of whom never even received a canonical backstory before the recent Daniel Craig era of the film series. And alongside Miss Moneypenny and gadget manufacturer Q, there are few characters as firmly associated with the James Bond franchise as the stern MI6 head M.

When looking at a rundown of the many actors who have taken on the role of Miss Moneypenny, Bond’s flirtatious secretary, it may be surprising to learn that despite the series featuring seven actors in the role of Bond, only four actors have played his secretary. However, a look at the bosses Bond has been through over the years shows that M has also only been portrayed by four actors, with most of them lasting through at least two of Bond’s onscreen actor tenures, and some managing to hang around even longer than that. Though few characters have played the role, M – like Bond himself – has been through plenty of reinventions, from the snappy, serious Judi Dench to the more kindly and gregarious Robert Brown.

Bernard Lee

Skewing close to the version of M seen in Ian Fleming’s 007 novels, the first movie iteration of the character was by the late, great Bernard Lee. Lee lasted an incredible 11 Bond outings, beginning with the first film of the series, 1962’s Dr. No, and sticking with the part through to 1979’s zany Star Wars-inspired Moonraker. That caper may have set a new standard for Bond’s campiness, but Lee nonetheless kept his no-nonsense M close to the source novel’s version of the character and had little room for humor, even during his more goofy Roger Moore outings. Thanks to George Lazenby’s brief tenure in the role, Lee’s M can boast lasting through 3 different Bond actors, and his time playing the part only came to a close due to the actor’s passing in 1981. An iconic portrayal, Lee’s M remains the blueprint by which subsequent versions of the character are measured through to this day, much like Connery’s influential original Bond.

Robert Brown

Robert Brown had a distinguished career as a thespian, appearing in everything from his film debut The Third Man to Ben-Hur to Mohammad: Messenger of God during his decades onscreen. However, despite cropping up in all manner of high-profile projects, Brown rarely secured big roles in these movies, and as such his casting as Lee’s replacement in Octopussy came as something of a surprise. After Lee’s death, the role went to Brown which created an interesting internal paradox in the James Bond continuity, as Brown had already played the more minor role of Admiral Hargreaves in the earlier Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. This prompted some fans to speculate that his M was a promoted Hargreaves, and the title was a codename passed on to each Head of MI6 like Bond’s 007 codename. Regardless of the part played by Brown earlier in the franchise, his version of M is frequently considered too soft by many fans of the series, despite Brown’s reliably solid performance in the role. Outside of stripping Bond’s titular Licence to Kill in the underrated Dalton outing of the same name, Brown didn’t get much to do in his four films as M. Much like Dalton’s Moneypenny Caroline Bliss was replaced by a more popular Samantha Bond, Brown was eventually replaced by arguably the greatest M, Judi Dench.

Judi Dench

Lasting eight movies and two Bonds, Dench’s M is second only to Lee in terms of longevity and might be an even more iconic take on the role than the original MI6 Head. From her first appearance in 1995’s Goldeneye, Dench’s sharp, sarcastic M was a fiery rebrand of the role, with director Martin Campbell using the character to comment on the James Bond franchise as a whole on behalf of the 90s audience. M derides Bond as a “relic of the Cold War” and a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur”, both of which were common criticisms of the character around the time (albeit ones that no reviewers expected to hear from his boss).

Dench’s M spent her time in the role openly annoyed by the more antiquated elements of Brosnan’s Bond and as such built up a superb rapport with the actor, whose campier moments played perfectly off her deadpan response. With the arrival of Daniel Craig, Bond became more serious and less fun, resulting in M gradually opening up and becoming more of a maternal figure to the character. She’s eventually presented as a surrogate parent late in the Craig era, by turns tough and understanding and as a result a more rounded, human version of the character. Of course, soon after M’s personal life was finally illustrated a little, Skyfall made her the first MI6 Head to be killed off by the long-running series, in the most devastating Bond twist since the death of the spy’s wife in On her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Ralph Fiennes

Frequently touted as a potential Bond himself during his younger years onscreen, screen veteran Ralph Fiennes took over the role of M the same year he retired his villainous role in the similarly massive British blockbuster series Harry Potter. Fiennes’ reinvention of the character is the final M thus far, though he’s yet to make an impression that could hope to match Dench’s definitive take on the character. Critical and fan consensus appears to agree that Fiennes has been fine in the part, but Spectre left him with little to do and only time will tell how big a part he has to play in the action of No Time To Die. That said, having killed off Dench’s M so recently it seems unlikely that the last outing of Craig’s James Bond will also be a send-off for Fiennes’ version of the character. Here’s hoping the talented thespian gets a chance to make more of an impression in the part going forward, whether he’s working alongside Lashanna Lynch, Tom Hardy, or another unknown 007.

About The Author

Cathal Gunning
(1431 Articles Published)

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies and TV online since 2020. His obsessions include The Simpsons, Stephen King, the Scream series, and the horror genre in general. He has spent more time thinking about Stranger Things than the writers of Stranger Things, and he has never seen a Star War.

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