STAGE TUBE: UK's Sky to Launch 007 HD Channel

By: Caryn Robbins Sep. 06, 2012

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Marking the first time in UK history that all the Bond films will be available to enjoy in one place, in HD, on demand and without ad breaks, Sky Movies 007 HD launches on October 5 2012. To mark the occasion, they've assembled a clip which combines footage featuring all six Bond actors into one big car chase with footage from "Dr. No," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "The Spy Who Loved Me," "Licence To Kill," "GoldenEye" and "Quantum of Solace" amongst others. Check it out below!

Mi6 provides a brief history of the actors who have played secret agent 007 below:

Sean Connery originally signed up to play 007 in six films starting with "Dr No' (1962), but was released from his contract one film early following "You Only Live Twice" (1967). George Lazenby was then cast as the first replacement, completing "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) before walking away from a contract for more.

Connery was lured back to the role for "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) and a record fee of £1.25 million which he donated to charity. Roger Moore then took the helm with "Live And Let Die" (1973), the third successive film in the series that had a change in the lead role. Moore steadied the ship and went on to complete a record total of seven outings, culminating in "A View To A Kill" (1985). His contract was originally for four films, but Moore and Broccoli negotiated on a per-film basis thereafter.

Timothy Dalton, who had been previously considered for the role, was cast for three films, starting with "The Living Daylights" (1987). After "Licence To Kill" (1989), a six year hiatus followed due to studio legal disputes, leaving Dalton walked away from a possible third film. Pierce Brosnan - who had narrowly missed out on the role in 1987 due to an NBC contract renewal - debuted as 007 in "GoldenEye" (1995). His tenure was set for three films with an option for a fourth, which he completed with "Die Another Day" in 2002. Brosnan was not recalled, and after a four year break, Daniel Craig made his debut in "Casino Royale" (2006).