I first read the Fleming novels in my pre teen-early teen years. The Bond I had in mind was Connery, even though the language used by the book Bond didn't always fit that of the screen Bond. Re-reading them aged eighteen, one a day, it was still Connery. Now, listening to them on CD, I'm not sure - by which I mean I'm not sure I see any of the Bond actors as the Bond of the books. Instead I now think of him as a separate character from the actors playing him on screen, very much reflecting the tastes of the man who created him.
That said, in terms of actors being influenced by this "book" Bond, I think Dalton is one of the closest to him. He is a great actor and I wasn't surprised when he said, on taking up the part, that he wanted to play Ian Fleming's Bond. Unfortunately, Ian Fleming's Bond has a dark side, which was translated to the screen by Dalton in some ways - tougher, more serious, more ruthless than Moore or, in some aspects Connery - but not others. Fleming's Bond is a bit of a snob, and can sometimes be callous with people in general and women in particular. This callous side of Bond, I think, is present in Daniel Craig's interpretation. Look at Skyfall - the way he uses Severine to get to Silva and then merely comments about a "terrible waste of Scotch" when Silva executes her. Or the way he dumps the body of Mathis in a skip in QoS, not forgetting to remove his wallet first - "He won't need it."
Dalton was unlucky in following the light hearted period of Moore - was the audience quite ready for a hard edged Bond yet, even if critics were? Unlucky in playing a "girl in every port" agent in the era of AIDS - so, little or no womanising beyond one leading lady. An opportunity to re-vamp more than just the way Bond was played was missed - we had Dalton pulling Bond one way with a production team still used to the gags & gadgets approach. And of course unlucky in being around for most of the six year production hiatus. A pity. I thought he was a darned good Bond.
But a Bond which reflected the man in the books might, I think, combine Connery's animal magnetism and dry humour, Dalton's looks and depth of character, and Craig's attitude, toughness and "borderline psychopath" moments. It would be asking a lot of a future actor to mix all that. But, you never know!
