Audiences around the globe know that James Bond is the world's most glamorous but dangerous spy. How exactly has he been portrayed? How close do the film versions come to the original book?

The original character, as written by Ian Fleming, is mysterious and elusive. However, some aspects of Bond are known with great certainty. First and foremost, he is unequivocally British, with British upbringing. For this reason, the four most important Bond actors are from the British Isles, as they should be. Sean Connery is Scottish; Roger Moore, English; Timothy Dalton, Welsh; and Brosnan, Irish--all within the British Isles. (We do not include Australian George Lazenby in our analysis since his one film was unsuccessful and an embarrassing debacle.)

In physical terms, Bond is described as 6 ft. tall, age 37-39, weight from 168 (12 stone) to 184 pounds, depending on the book. He has black hair that hooks in a comma over his right eyebrow, narrow blue-grey eyes, tan complexion, a 3-inch vertical scar down the side of his face, and a "rather cruel mouth." When asleep, his face is described as brutal, cold, and ironical. In "Casino Royale," the first book, Bond looks in the mirror and sees himself as "grey-blue eyes with a hint of ironical humor, short black hair, a thin vertical scar down his right cheek giving him a faintly piratical flair." In another chapter, an observer describes him as " a good-looking man…but cold and ruthless."

The actors portraying Bond match this description fairly well but to varying degrees. Though Connery, Dalton and Brosnan have dark hair, Moore is a blond. Weight and height are about right for all, though Connery is the tallest at 6 ft. 3. Connery has brown eyes, Moore blue eyes, Dalton green, and Brosnan blue. All, needless to say, have been extraordinarily good-looking.

The ages of the actors have varied but they have all looked like they are in the right age range for Bond. Connery was actually 32 in his first Bond film, "Dr. No," but looked and acted older. Dalton was 40, Moore 44 and Brosnan 45. This age characteristic is crucial to the character, as the producers seem to understand. A young man would not be convincing as Bond. Bond is a man with a great deal of experience, knowledge, glamour and sophistication; he can't be a young puppy and make it believable. Being the most dangerous and clever spy in the world isn't something that happens overnight.

Bond's demeanor is described as decisive, authoritative, ruthless, ironical, cold and taciturn. Implied is Bond's immense physical presence. He is also presented as suave, charming, sophisticated and highly cultured, a characteristic that one article in "Entertainment Weekly" called "tux-ability." He is sexy and has the ability to easily attract women, a trait that EW playfully called "babe-ability." All the Bond actors have successfully met these criteria. Moore was probably the most sophisticated, ironical and charming, Connery the most ruthless and cold, but all were authoritative and decisive, with great physical presence. All have been sexy and appealing to a wide range of women.

All of the Bond actors, to varying degrees, have had that "ironical' touch in their Bond personae. Moore displays it most of all, though Brosnan also shows a "gift for quippery." What Moore lacks that the others have is the cold edge and touch of ruthlessness, perhaps Connery more than the others. None have had the scar.

Bond, both in the books and in the movies, is experienced with many kinds of equipment and gadgets--not just guns of all kinds, but cars, planes, skis, boats, SCUBA gear, bombs, nuclear devices and much more. He is physically fit and skilled in the use of marital arts and many kinds of weaponry. The clear implication is that he is a highly intelligent man, in excellent physical condition, and very knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects and abilities. This experience and knowledge is part of what makes him so dangerous. These skills, which EW entitled "gadget-ability," have taken a long time to acquire. Not a job for a youngster.

Very little else is known about Bond. Rarely is his inner psyche or emotional life revealed. We do know that in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," he falls in love and marries, only to see his bride murdered almost immediately. In this book, more than any other, Bond is portrayed as a man with deep emotions. He is devastated by his wife's murder and begins to fall apart mentally. A few other glimpses can occasionally be seen, as in "Casino Royale" where he is emotionally crushed by the suicide of a female colleague to whom he had proposed. As coldly as he presents himself to others, he is in fact capable of great emotional pain and anguish.

Little of this private psyche has been presented in the Bond films, though there are tantalizing glimpses. In "The Living Daylights," for example, he cannot bring himself to kill the lovely and brilliant cello player whom he believes to be a Russian agent. Or his intense thirst for revenge after Felix Leiter's bride is murdered in "License to Kill." The hints of Bond's inner complexity are perhaps best depicted in Brosnan's latest film, "Die Another Day." Dark and edgy, it shows a mature Bond who has spent 18 months in a North Korean prison, bitter and isolated. Recognizing that his own people, even M, have hung him out to dry, he has to fight back virtually alone to prove that he is not a turncoat. This dark place may be where Fleming would have taken Bond, if he had lived long enough to do so