i never cared much for Roger as Bond. he played it too glib, yeah on purpose because he didn't simply want to mimic Connery. And Connery was fine with that, he'd tell any Bond play it your way, not mine or anyone else.
Moore could have been the first Bond. many stories tell it that the original choice was Cary Grant, a potentially excellent choice but that he didn't want to commit to more than one movie, meaning they'd have to replace him after the first one. so they reluctantly dropped Grant.
Moore was possibly the second choice, depending who you ask. but he couldn't get out of his commitment to "The Saint" and the producers at that time didn't have bags full of money to get him out of his contract. the third possibility was Christoper Lee, a potentially interesting choice given his horror film background. some involved say Lee was only considered to appease Fleming himself, who happened to be Lee's step-cousin by marriage. Lee certainly would have been the tallest to play Bond as his height is variously listed at 6-4 or 6-5 depending on the source.
so who gets the 4th place vote and thus the job? Connery.
if Moore had played Bond as he played Simon Templar in "The Saint", he'd have been better in the role, regardless of any talk of Connery's portrayal and similarities to such.
Connery, interestingly, played the role more or less as Fleming intended, cold, hard, ruthless. that's why he's to date the best Bond.
for reasons only Fleming could answer, his visual feel for Bond is oddly the American actor Hoagy Carmichael. wtf??? bahaha. this guy as Bond??? or at least the look?
No Thanks. here's a sketch of "Bond" per Fleming ..
as it stands .. this guy became the "Look of Bond"
never met a babe he wouldn't fuck then throw to the curb without an ounce of remorse.