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58 free Hard James Bond trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
These hard James Bond trivia questions are for fans who already know the six Eon Bonds and want the deep cuts: Ian Fleming's Room 39 codename and the Caribbean bird expert whose name he borrowed, the 1954 TV Bond who came before Connery, why Kevin McClory owned Thunderball, the recast Blofeld, the Vesper recipe, Ken Adam's million-dollar volcano and the legal fight over the James Bond Theme. They cover every era from Dr. No to No Time to Die, plus the Amazon MGM takeover that decides where 007 goes next. The easiest questions here would be the hardest on a general Bond quiz: which actor played Q in 17 films, which theme was the first nominated for an Oscar, which one alone hit number one in America. The hard ones want the step-cousin who played Scaramanga, the man who wrote You Only Live Twice's screenplay and the trick that turned a Lotus into a submarine. If you want a warm-up, start with our main James Bond trivia (brainpickle.app/quiz/a/james-bond) or the theme songs quiz (brainpickle.app/quiz/a/james-bond-theme-songs). Every answer has been checked against a reference encyclopaedia, and each question shows its explanation and citation once you have answered.
30 of 58 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Ian Fleming worked in Naval Intelligence during World War II under which codename?
17F
Fleming's Naval Intelligence codename was 17F; he was personal assistant to Rear Admiral John Godfrey, the Director of Naval Intelligence, working from Room 39 at the Admiralty.
Q 02Fleming took the name James Bond from an American expert on what?
Caribbean birds
Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, owned Bond's field guide Birds of the West Indies and called it 'the dullest name I ever heard'.
Q 03Fleming helped plan which wartime operation, whose name he later reused for his Jamaican estate?
Goldeneye
Operation Goldeneye was Fleming's contingency plan for Spain should Franco join the Axis; he named his Jamaican estate Goldeneye after it in 1946.
Q 04Fleming's Bond novels number twelve, plus how many short-story collections?
Two
Fleming published two short-story collections, For Your Eyes Only (1960) and the posthumous Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966), alongside twelve novels from Casino Royale (1953) on.
Q 05Which children's book did Ian Fleming write, published in 1964?
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, Ian Fleming's 1964 children's story about a magical car, was written for his son Caspar and became a 1968 musical film.
Q 06Who played Bond in the 1954 CBS television adaptation of Fleming's first novel?
Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson played an American 'Jimmy Bond' in the 1954 Climax! episode adapting Casino Royale, for which CBS paid Fleming $1,000.
Q 07Which firearms expert advised Fleming to switch Bond from a Beretta to the Walther PPK?
Geoffrey Boothroyd
Fleming made the change in Dr. No (1958) and named the armourer 'Major Boothroyd' in thanks.
Q 08Who directed Dr. No, the first Eon Bond film?
Terence Young
Terence Young directed Dr. No, released in October 1962 on a budget of about $1 million; he went on to direct From Russia with Love and Thunderball.
Q 09Whose Thunderball legal battle with Fleming led to the non-Eon film Never Say Never Again?
Kevin McClory
Kevin McClory co-wrote the Thunderball screenplay, first titled Longitude 78 West; after suing Fleming over the 1961 novel he won film rights that enabled Never Say Never Again (1983).
Q 10Which writer adapted You Only Live Twice for the 1967 film?
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl wrote the You Only Live Twice screenplay, a loose adaptation of Fleming's 1964 novel that keeps little beyond the Japanese setting and Blofeld.
Q 11Which actor was first cast as Blofeld in You Only Live Twice before Donald Pleasence replaced him?
Jan Werich
Jan Werich, a Czech actor, shot five days as Blofeld before Lewis Gilbert and Broccoli judged him too benign and recast Donald Pleasence, citing illness publicly.
Q 12Nancy Sinatra sang the You Only Live Twice theme after which relative of hers passed on it?
Her father
Her father, Frank Sinatra, was approached first and passed; Nancy was so nervous at the session she said she sometimes sounded like Minnie Mouse.
Q 13George Lazenby announced he would only play Bond once on the advice of whom?
His agent
Q 21Rosa Klebb's shoe blade in From Russia with Love is laced with poison from which creature?
Pufferfish
The blade carries pufferfish toxin; Fleming's novel specifies fugu poison from the Japanese globe-fish. Lotte Lenya played Klebb, who is shot by Tatiana in the final scene.
Q 22Which actor played Q in 17 Eon films, opposite every Bond from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan?
Desmond Llewelyn
Desmond Llewelyn appeared in more Bond films than any other actor; his last, The World Is Not Enough, introduced John Cleese's R as heir presumptive.
Q 23Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny in how many consecutive Eon films, from Dr. No through 1985?
14
His agent, Ronan O'Rahilly, convinced Lazenby that Bond would look dated in the 1970s, so he announced he was quitting before On Her Majesty's Secret Service opened in December 1969.
Q 14Who sang 'We Have All the Time in the World' for On Her Majesty's Secret Service?
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong recorded 'We Have All the Time in the World' in 1969, one of his final recordings; Bond marries Tracy (Diana Rigg) in the film.
Q 15Connery returned for Diamonds Are Forever for $1.25 million plus what share of the gross?
12.5%
United Artists paid Connery $1.25 million plus 12.5% of the gross, a fee he gave to the Scottish International Education Trust; John Gavin had already been signed.
Q 16Which producer's plan to shoot The Man with the Golden Gun in Cambodia with Roger Moore collapsed in the 1960s?
Harry Saltzman
Harry Saltzman planned to shoot in Cambodia with Roger Moore in the late 1960s, but political instability killed the location, Moore signed up for more of The Saint, and the film waited until 1974.
Q 17Christopher Lee, who played Scaramanga, was related to Ian Fleming how?
Step-cousin
Lee was Fleming's step-cousin: his stepfather, banker Harcourt Rose, was Fleming's uncle. Fleming had wanted Lee for Dr. No years earlier.
Q 18Which two films feature Richard Kiel as the steel-toothed henchman Jaws?
The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker
Richard Kiel played Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979); he was meant to die by shark in the first but was spared so he could return.
Q 19Which billionaire bought 'Wet Nellie', the Lotus Esprit submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me?
Elon Musk
Elon Musk bought Wet Nellie at a London auction in September 2013 for about £550,000, saying he wanted to make the car transform for real.
Q 20Oddjob was played by Harold Sakata, who was also what?
A professional wrestler
Harold Sakata was a professional wrestler billed as Tosh Togo and had won a weightlifting silver medal at the 1948 London Olympics; his razor-brimmed bowler is Oddjob's signature.
Lois Maxwell played Moneypenny in 14 films, from Dr. No (1962) to A View to a Kill (1985); the Canadian actress was born Lois Hooker.
Q 24After Bernard Lee's death in 1981, which actor played M from Octopussy through Licence to Kill?
Robert Brown
Robert Brown was hired for Octopussy after Lee, who had played M in the first 11 films, died in 1981; Judi Dench then took over for GoldenEye.
Q 25Which special effects expert modified the Aston Martin DB5 for Goldfinger?
John Stears
John Stears, Eon's special effects supervisor, fitted the DB5 with its ejector seat and gadgets for Goldfinger (1964); he later won Oscars for Thunderball and Star Wars.
Q 26Bond's Vesper cocktail calls for three measures of Gordon's gin, one of vodka and half a measure of what?
Kina Lillet
Kina Lillet stopped being made in 1986, but Craig's Bond still recites the original recipe in Casino Royale.
Q 27Who designed the gun barrel sequence used in every Eon Bond film?
Maurice Binder
Maurice Binder designed the gun barrel for Dr. No in 1962, shooting it through a pinhole camera; he went on to design the title sequences of 14 Bond films.
Q 28The James Bond Theme was composed by Monty Norman and arranged for Dr. No by whom?
John Barry
John Barry arranged Monty Norman's theme for Dr. No and went on to score eleven Bond films; Norman collected royalties on the theme until his death in 2022.
Q 29Which is the only Eon Bond film in which the James Bond Theme is not played over the gun barrel sequence?
Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006) withholds the James Bond Theme from its gun barrel, saving the full theme for the final scene where Craig's Bond introduces himself; the piece is in E minor.
Q 30Shirley Bassey is the only artist to sing more than one official Bond theme; which three did she record?
Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker
Bassey sang Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Moonraker (1979); 'Goldfinger' was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.