James Bond fans are very picky. Nowadays, most of them were introduced to the character through the movies, which invariably made them wade through Ian Fleming's eminently readable novels. When they come out the other side of that experience, they're either more picky about movies or more open to the multitudes that this licensed-to-kill MI6 agent can hold depending on who's writing to him and, of course, who's waving the confidential Walther PPK (or, for a short period, the newer Walther P99).

Even after reading the books, people's preferences for 007 tend to be generational. Baby Boomers swear by Sean Connery, Gen X-ers have a soft spot for the funny Roger Moore, Gen X-ers who thought their way through the 80s and 90s cling to Timothy Dalton and Millennials how Pierce Brosnan, but absolutely adores Daniel Craig. The Zoomers are still waiting for their Bond and, thanks to the ongoing dispute between longtime 007 producer Barbara Broccoli and Amazon Studios, it looks like they're going to be waiting a long time. But for those of us who have seen all the films multiple times and spent hours arguing with friends and fellow 007 travelers about Fleming's secret agent, Bond's sweet spot is more elusive.

This is especially true of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh, who both stuck with the character (if you've never read the latter's appreciation of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, please fix this). And it's dead serious business for Christopher Nolan, who said his 2010 sci-fi/action film Inception was basically his Bond movie. (I think "Tenet" is on the Bond beat, too.) Given his age (54), you might think Nolan is either a Roger Moore devotee or, perhaps, an old-school Connery boss. But while he's quite a fan of both, his favorite Bond and favorite Bond film might not be what you'd expect (although if you're a 007 fan, you know exactly where this is going).

Nolan's favorite James Bond film of all time is actually 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. According to the director, "It's a hell of a movie, it holds up very well." If you think this is an odd choice given that its star, George Lazenby, is considered the worst Bond of the 62-year-old franchise, a) Lazenby is fine, if a little dry, b) Diana Rigg's Tracy is by far the best Bond love interest interest, and c) the massive action sequences are expertly staged, shot and edited by director Peter R. Hunt.

As Nolan once expressed to Empire (via The playlist):

“What I loved about ('On Her Majesty's Secret Service') that we tried to emulate in this film ('Inception') is that there's a huge balance of action and scope and romanticism and tragedy and emotion. Of all the Bond films, it is by far the most emotional. There's a love story, and Inception is kind of a love story, like anything else.

As for Nolan's favorite Bond actor, it is no Lazenby. It's actually Daltonwhom Nolan believes is the closest to embodying the ruthless and ruthless 007 from Fleming's books. The only reason Dalton isn't more beloved is the timing of his casting: Pierce Brosnan was supposed to inherit the role from Roger Moore after "A View to a Kill," but NBC forced him back for an unwanted fifth season of "Remington Steele." . So when The Living Daylights came out in 1987, many moviegoers couldn't help but compare Dalton to the very different Brosnan.

If these choices still don't rub you the right way, you should revisit On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Living Daylights, and the first half of License to Kill. Nolan knows his Bond and these are excellent choices.