Donald “Red” Grant (From Russia With Love, 1963): The role that sparked the acting career of RobertShaw—many years before he played the salty boat captain Quint in Jaws—was this stone-cold killer employed by Bond’s nemesis organization, SPECTRE. His climactic, close-quarters hand-to-hand, life-or-death duel with Bond in a train car is one of the franchise’s all-time top fight scenes. Auric Goldfinger (Goldfinger, 1964): The gold-obsessed bad guy (GertFröbe) devises a plot to set off a nuclear device at Fort Knox just to make sure his stockpile was the most valuable in the world. “He’s the benchmark because he’s more intimidating than the typical fantasy villain,” says film historian and Bond expert StevenJayRubin. (English actor MichaelCollins dubbed the dialogue for the German actor.) Ernst Stavro Blofeld (You Only Live Twice, 1967): The scarred baldy—who served as inspiration for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise—has been played by various actors in several Bond films. DonaldPleasance’s turn was most memorable, especially when he finally shows his face and reveals to Bond his dastardly plan to win the international space race. Xenia Onatopp (GoldenEye, 1995): The femme fatale (FamkeJanssen) who works for former agent 006, Alec Trevelyan (SeanBean), slinked her way into infamy as a hitwoman whose preferred method of murder is strangulation—using her thighs! (Janssen broke a rib during her love/fight scene with Brosnan’s Bond.) Mr. Big/Dr.Kanaga (Live and Let Die, 1973): Not only does the corrupt (but surprisingly charming!) Caribbean dictator and drug lord (YaphetKotto) get his hands dirty in the heroin trade, he employs supernatural and impossible-to-kill henchman Baron Samedi (GeoffreyHolder) in this flick released at the height of the 1970s “blaxploitation” era. Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977; Moonraker, 1979): A couple years after that shark terrorized beachgoers, this silent 7-foot-tall mankiller (RichardKiel) made his evil presence known by using his steel molars—welded together via a blowtorch!—to chomp through people’s necks, padlocked chains and an electrical lamp. Max Zorin (A View to a Kill, 1985): ChristopherWalken didn’t do anything small as the ruthless Silicon Valley psychopath with a dark Nazi past who plots to destroy his competition by triggering a massive earthquake in the San Andreas Fault. Even his ending was grandiose, falling to his death from the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay. Le Chiffre (Casino Royale, 2005): Despite not using weapons, this cool customer (MadsMikkelsen) was all aces as a professional card shark who helped manage terrorist organizations’ funds. Enter Bond, who bankrupts him at the table in Montenegro. “He’s terrific,” Rubin says. “He’s low-key, creepy and a little bit terrifying,” especially when he puts Bond through a very uncomfortable torture session. Raoul Silva (Skyfall, 2012): The disavowed MI6 agent (JavierBardem) sets out to exact revenge against his former employer and shine a light on the agency’s ineffectiveness in the process. After obtaining the list of the operative’s identities, he shamelessly mocks Bond during an interrogation. Franz Oberhauser/Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Spectre, 2015): German actor ChristophWaltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Downsizing) plays this triple-layered baddie with devious dreams of world domination. His time, so to speak, runs out (at least temporarily) when he’s introduced to Bond’s exploding wristwatch. Next, How to Watch All the James Bond Movies in Order and Where to Stream the Iconic Franchise
