Daniel Craig proved a particularly contentious choice when he took over the mantle of Bond with 2006's 'Casino Royale.' And he wasn't the only casting decision that caused some problems for the production. But following his departure from the series, each new actor who was chosen to wear the famous tux prompted yet more controversy. Of course, Connery would be cast anyway, and define the character of James Bond for an entire generation. As recounted in Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury's 2015 book, 'Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films,' when Broccoli and Saltzman sent Connery's tape to the United Artists execs in New York, the response came back: 'NO, KEEP TRYING.' But before he was offered the part, he would have to screen test, which he ultimately agreed to do despite pushing back initially. No,' they all had a sense that Sean Connery was the man for the job.

When writer Ian Fleming and producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were casting 007 for 'Dr. Green’s Vesper Lynd, however, was a far more detailed character whose impact on Bond would persist long after her own death.Even Bond himself caused casting issues. Treated more as accessories rather than people, the Bond franchise’s misogynistic legacy was perhaps the biggest challenge for the Craig era to overcome.

Over the years the role of a “Bond Girl” had often been laden with baggage, with the franchise's women often depicted as one-dimensional characters developed purely to become an object of desire for the Bond of the day.

Yet, in-between Craig’s solemn characterization and parkour-inspired chase sequences, it was actually Green’s character that proved the film’s most significant departure point. No, Casino Royale dispensed with the camp atmosphere and reliance on increasingly unrealistic gadgetry in favor of a far more serious take on Fleming’s famous spy. Intentionally upending various tropes and expectations that had evolved since 1962’s Dr. Following Pierce Brosnan’s tenure, which began in the mid-1990s, Craig’s debut as James Bond marked a significant change in direction for the long-running franchise.

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