(It is said North by Northwest movie was the pre-curser to the 007 character.)
What I vaguely remember is that they looked at Carey Grant to first play the role of Bond based on North by Northwest. Ian Fleming I think had a role in choosing the actor.
Carey Grant was not the pre-cursor, it was the movie plot itself. Grant was more comic actor and lacked the swagger of 007 character. He was also good in To Catch a Thief movie by Alfred Hitchcock.