Rather than being a run-of-the-mill Bond girl who 007 has his way with before moving on, Lynd proves to be the character's intellectual equal. Eva Green's Vesper Lynd was an agent from Her Majesty's Treasury, sent to accompany Bond on his trip to the titular Casino and ensure he doesn't squander the millions of dollars he's been provided by the UK Government. It helped that 'Casino Royale' also featured the first relationship in the franchise between Bond and a so-called 'Bond girl' that felt genuinely real. 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.

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