answers: David Niven
context: a 1954 episode of the CBS television series "Climax!" with Barry Nelson as an American Bond, a 1967 film version with David Niven playing "Sir James Bond", and a 2006 film in the Eon Productions film series starring Daniel Craig as James Bond. M, the Head of the British Secret Service, assigns James Bond, 007, to play against and bankrupt Le Chiffre, the paymaster for a SMERSH-controlled trade union, in a high-stakes baccarat game at the Royale-les-Eaux casino in northern France. As part of Bond's cover as a rich Jamaican playboy, M also assigns as his companion Vesper Lynd, personal </s> was punched by the actor when he complained about Sellers' behavior on the set. Some biographies of Sellers suggest that he took the role of Bond to heart, and was annoyed at the decision to make "Casino Royale" a comedy, as he wanted to play Bond straight. This is illustrated in somewhat fictionalised form in the film "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers", based on the biography by Roger Lewis, who has claimed that Sellers kept re-writing and improvising scenes to make them play seriously. This story is in agreement with the observation that the only parts of the </s> distributors of the official Bond movies by Eon Productions. Sir James Bond 007, a legendary British spy who retired from the secret service 20 years previously, is visited by the head of British MI6, M, CIA representative Ransome, KGB representative Smernov, and Deuxième Bureau representative Le Grand. All implore Bond to come out of retirement to deal with SMERSH who have been eliminating agents: Bond spurns all their pleas. When Bond continues to stand firm, his mansion is destroyed by a mortar attack at the orders of M, who is, however, killed in the explosion. Bond travels to Scotland to
question: who played james bond in casino royale 1967