Share
1 of 24
The movies have brought us some great villains, but few have surpassed the evildoers of the James Bond films -- including Louis Jourdan, whose turn as an Afghan prince in 1983's "Octopussy" remains one of his most famous roles. Click through the gallery for some others who faced off against 007. Eon Productions/MGM
The first Bond bad guy was Joseph Wiseman, who played the title character in 1962's "Dr. No." He defined decades of Bond villains, with his secret lair, his faith in sabotage and his megalomania. Wiseman, who appeared in several TV shows and Broadway plays, died in 2009. Eon Productions/MGM
Lotte Lenya played Rosa Klebb, a Russian SPECTRE agent, in 1963's "From Russia with Love." She was assisted by Donald Grant (Robert Shaw), a thug who meets with Bond on a train. Before playing Klebb, Lenya was a famed stage actress -- she was married to composer Kurt Weill for many years -- and earned a shout-out in Bobby Darin's version of "Mack the Knife." Shaw had greater fame post-Bond in such in such films as "The Sting" and "Jaws." Shaw died in 1978; Lenya in 1981. Eon Productions/MGM
German actor Gert Frobe had some of the best lines in 1964's "Goldfinger," in which he played the title character. His nefarious plot: to irradiate the gold in Fort Knox, thus making his own supply more valuable. That wasn't Frobe's voice you hear, though -- because of his thick accent he was dubbed by Michael Collins. Frobe died in 1988. Eon Productions/MGM
Adolfo Celi played Emilio Largo, who steals some nuclear missiles in 1965's "Thunderball." Celi also starred in the war film "Von Ryan's Express." He died in 1986. Eon Productions/MGM
Several men have played archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld over the years, but the most iconic version is probably that of Donald Pleasance in 1967's "You Only Live Twice." Pleasance appeared in a number of other well-known films, including "The Great Escape" and "Halloween." He died in 1995. Eon Productio/MGM
Telly Savalas, hot off the success of "The Dirty Dozen," played Blofeld in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Savalas later became more famous for his performance as TV detective Theo Kojak in "Kojak." He died in 1994. Eon Productions/MGM
Charles Gray took on the role of Blofeld in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever." His other films included "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (as the Criminologist), "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" -- and "You Only Live Twice," in which he played a Bond friend. Gray died in 2000. Eon Productions/MGM
Yaphet Kotto played Dr. Kananga, the Caribbean crime lord, in 1973's "Live and Let Die," the first of the Roger Moore films. Kotto, a popular character actor, was later in "Midnight Run" and "Homicide: Life on the Street," where he played a Baltimore cop. Eon Productions/MGM
Horror movie king Christopher Lee took on the role of "The Man With the Golden Gun," Scaramanga, in the 1974 Bond film. Lee's other roles include "The Wicker Man" and, of course, the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" films, in which he plays Saruman. Eon Productions/MGM
Curt Jurgens played Karl Stromberg in 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me." Stromberg wants to destroy the world -- and start anew underwater. Jurgens also appeared in "The Longest Day" and "Lord Jim." He died in 1982. Mary Evans/Eon Productions/Ronald Grant/Everett Collectiion
French actor Michael Lonsdale took on the mantle of Bond villain by playing Hugo Drax, yet another in a string of megalomaniacal industrialists, in 1979's "Moonraker." Lonsdale, who's now 83, later appeared in "The Remains of the Day" and "Munich." Eon Productions/MGM
Richard Kiel was never a Bond mastermind, but as Jaws in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker," he was dependable (and toothy) comic relief. Kiel died in 2014. Eon Productions/MGM
Julian Glover played villain Aristotle Kristatos in 1981's "For Your Eyes Only." The same year he appeared as Walter Donovan in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Glover is still active; he plays Grand Maester Pycelle in "Game of Thrones." Eon Productions/MGM
Following Jourdan in "Octopussy," Christopher Walken took a turn as Bond villain, starring as Max Zorin in 1985's "A View to a Kill." Walken may be the best-known actor among Bond villains; the Oscar winner for "The Deer Hunter" has been in "Pulp Fiction," "Catch Me If You Can," "Hairspray" and many other movies. Eon Productions/MGM
Joe Don Baker (center) and Jeroen Krabbe (right) were the main malefactors in 1987's "The Living Daylights," which featured Timothy Dalton as Bond. Andreas Wisniewski (left) aided their plot, which involved opium and assassinations. Baker was also in "Walking Tall" and "Fletch"; Krabbe's roles include Charles Nichols in "The Fugitive." Eon Productions/MGM
Robert Davi played Franz Sanchez in 1989's "Licence to Kill." Davi's other films include "The Goonies" and "Showgirls." Eon Productions/MGM
Sean Bean's Alec Trevelyan wanted to set off an electromagnetic pulse over London in 1995's "GoldenEye." Bond (by now Pierce Brosnan) wouldn't have it. Bean, like Christopher Lee, was in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Eon Productions/MGM
Jonathan Pryce was Elliot Carver, a media mogul with terror on his mind, in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies." The British actor's other films include "Brazil," "Evita" and "Glengarry Glen Ross." He's won two Tonys as well. Eon Productions/MGM
Robert Carlyle starred as Renard in 1999's "The World Is Not Enough." His idea? Blow up Istanbul. Will these villains never learn? Carlyle's other films include "Trainspotting," "The Full Monty" and "28 Weeks Later." He also plays Mr. Gold in "Once Upon a Time." Eon Productions/MGM
Toby Stephens played Gustav Graves in 2002's "Die Another Day." The actor has worked frequently in British TV, though his recent "Black Sails" airs on Starz. Eon Productions/MGM
Mads Mikkelsen, he of the eyes that shed tears of blood, played Le Chiffre opposite Daniel Craig's Bond in 2006's "Casino Royale." Mikkelsen now plays Hannibal Lecter on the TV show "Hannibal." Eon Productions/MGM
Mathieu Amalric was Dominic Greene in 2008's "Quantum of Solace." Amalric, a French actor, has also appeared in "Munich" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel." Eon Productions/MGM
Oscar winner Javier Bardem is the most recent Bond villain, having played Raoul Silva in 2012's "Skyfall." He won his Academy Award for "No Country for Old Men" and has also appeared in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Eat Pray Love." Eon Productions/MGM
