For decades, audiences have enjoyed watching the exploits of James Bond as he saves the world from a variety of evil masterminds. Bond and his best lines are so well-known, even people who have never seen a single film in the franchise are likely to recognize them. The suave spy has been played by seven actors over the years (so far), most recently Daniel Craig, and has gone on to become a pop-culture icon. The character and films are based on a series of novels by Ian Fleming.
But the best Bond films are only as good as their villains, and Bond has faced plenty in his time as an agent, some more menacing than others. Some henchmen proved to be even more dangerous and terrifying than the masterminds they were working for, but some of the best, most intimidating villains Bond has gone up against were those within MI6 itself.
10 Elliot Carver
‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997)
Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) was a British media mogul who created crimes—and even killed his own wife—solely to have a scoop for his media empire. He sought to take this even further by trying to trigger a war between the UK and China in the hopes of taking down the Chinese government so his media empire could cover it, then expand by using the new government to get exclusive broadcasting rights in China.
Carver may not have been as menacing or threatening as some other iconic Bond villains—in fact, he could be downright obnoxious—but he was certainly intimidating in his own right, especially because he was realistic. What made him so intimidating was the sheer amount of power and influence he held over the media, power he could, and did, wield to influence people and the fact that he didn’t care what impact his media empire had.
Tomorrow Never Dies
- Release Date
- December 11, 1997
- Director
- Roger Spottiswoode
- Runtime
- 119
- Writers
- Ian Fleming , Bruce Feirstein
- Tagline
- The Man. The Number. The License…are all back.
9 Ernst Stavro Blofeld
‘From Russia with Love,’ ‘Thunderball,’ ‘You Only Live Twice,’ ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,’ ‘Diamonds Are Forever,’ ‘For Your Eyes Only,’ ‘Never Say Never Again,’ ‘Spectre’ and ‘No Time to Die’ (1963-2021)
Blofeld, real name Franz Oberhauser, was introduced in the very first Bond film and has been his archenemy for decades, one of the few villains to return for multiple films. He was the criminal mastermind behind the organization SPECTRE, with the goal of world domination. The most recent incarnation of the character was re-imagined for the Bond films starring Craig, in which he was played by Christoph Waltz and was revealed to be Bond’s adoptive brother.
Each actor who played Blofeld brought something different to the character—Waltz’s take on him was menacing, while Donald Pleasence was downright creepy. But the character has been consistently ruthless. The fact that his early appearances were brief and shrouded in mystery only made him more intimidating, and he was known to kill his henchmen for failing to meet his expectations. He was also the inspiration for a few parody characters, most notably Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise.
You Only Live Twice
- Release Date
- June 13, 1967
- Director
- Lewis Gilbert
- Cast
- Sean Connery , Akiko Wakabayashi , Mie Hama , Tetsurô Tanba , Teru Shimada , Karin Dor
- Runtime
- 117
- Writers
- Ian Fleming , Harold Jack Bloom , Roald Dahl
- Tagline
- You Only Live Twice…and “TWICE” is the only way to live!
8 Dr. Julius No
‘Dr. No’ (1962)
Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman), the very first Bond villain, was a brilliant nuclear scientist who did radiation experiments in his work as an operative for SPECTRE and sought to interfere with US missile launches. He worked with Blofeld, another notable Bond villain. After losing his hands in a radioactive incident, they were replaced with robotic ones, which were strong enough to crush anything by squeezing it, and he was also known for his stylish nehru jacket.
Dr. No was the quintessential Bond villain who set the stage for all the ones who followed him—and he influenced other movie villains. He was not only frightening but arrogant, as well. His island was full of dangerous weapons, including a tank, but most alarming of all was the way he himself could be a weapon. His robotic hands helped add to his intimidating nature, especially considering the ways they could be used to injure someone.
Dr. No
- Release Date
- October 7, 1962
- Director
- Terence Young
- Cast
- Sean Connery , ursula andress , Joseph Wiseman , Jack Lord , Bernard Lee , Anthony Dawson
- Runtime
- 110
- Writers
- Richard Maibaum , Johanna Harwood , Berkely Mather , Ian Fleming , Terence Young
- Tagline
- NOW meet the most extraordinary gentleman spy in all fiction!
7 Oddjob
‘Goldfinger’ (1964)
Oddjob (Harold Sakata) was a Korean man who worked as a henchman for Goldfinger, with a variety of other jobs, hence the name, including bodyguard, chauffeur and pretty much anything else that was asked of him. He was known for being well-dressed, but it wasn’t just for looks, as his hat was also a deadly weapon. After a hand-to-hand fight—or more accurately, hat-to-hand fight—Bond ultimately defeated him by electrocuting him.
Goldfinger was brutal and terrifying in his own right, but he sent Oddjob to do his bidding for a reason. The mystery surrounding him at the start of Goldfinger helped make him an intimidating henchman. Despite his unassuming appearance and silent demeanor, he proved to be a tough, violent man, with impressive strength and an ability to withstand physical attacks and blows which would surely leave anyone else with painful injuries.
- Release Date
- September 20, 1964
- Director
- Guy Hamilton
- Cast
- Sean Connery , Honor Blackman , Gert Fröbe , Shirley Eaton , Tania Mallet , Harold Sakata
- Runtime
- 112
- Writers
- Richard Maibaum , Paul Dehn , Ian Fleming
- Tagline
- James Bond is back in action! Everything he touches turns to excitement!
6 Max Zorin
‘A View to a Kill’ (1985)
Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) was a successful businessman and former KGB intelligence operative. He was the leader of Zorin Industries, a governmental contractor company, who intended to trigger explosions on the San Andreas fault, causing flooding in Silicon Valley and giving his company a monopoly. He was the result of a Nazi experiment to genetically modify fetuses before birth in the hopes of creating incredibly intelligent children, but he ultimately fell to his death from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge.
While some Bond villains harmed people out of necessity, Zorin was a rare example of one who seemed to take pleasure in it—he’d kill just about anyone if he benefited from it, and he’d feel no remorse while doing it. He also had the distinction of being among the very few Bond villains who managed to get under Bond’s skin. Walken played him wonderfully, and it’s hard to imagine any other actor making him as unsettling.
5 Alec Trevelyan
‘GoldenEye’ (1995)
After his parents’ deaths, Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) was taken in by MI6 as a child, and as he ascended through the ranks thanks to his skills and training, he was given 00 status and code named 006. He defected after learning the truth about what happened to his parents and sought revenge for their deaths by plotting to use a satellite to steal millions of pounds from the Bank of England. While on a mission with Bond (Pierce Brosnan), he was thought to have been killed.
There were few people more intimidating than an agent just as skilled as Bond and one who thought he was better—it meant he wasn’t just intelligent and capable, but he could easily predict what Bond would do next and knew exactly how to get to him, essentially an evil version of him. But like some other villains, Trevelyan’s motivations were understandable, but his actions were impossible to justify, especially considering how far he went.
- Release Date
- November 16, 1995
- Runtime
- 130 minutes
- Writers
- Ian Fleming , Michael France , Jeffrey Caine , Bruce Feirstein
4 Raoul Silva
‘Skyfall’ (2012)
Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), real name Tiago Rodriguez, was a former MI6 agent turned cyber-terrorist who had worked under M until a mission went wrong and he was left for dead. As an attempt to get revenge, he orchestrated data leaks in MI6 and committed a series of terrorist attacks as part of a plan to discredit and ultimately kill M, 15 years later, and Bond was tasked with protecting her and the organization.
Silva’s quest for revenge against M was borderline obsessive. What made him so intimidating was his MI6 training, paired with an absolutely relentless desire to punish M, on top of his skills with computers—he was well-aware of Bond’s shortcomings by the time the two met and made that very clear. But he was also a sympathetic villain whose grievances, whether they were justified or not, were at least understandable.
James Bond’s loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
- Release Date
- October 25, 2012
- Director
- Sam Mendes
- Runtime
- 143
- Writers
- Neal Purvis , Robert Wade , John Logan , Ian Fleming
- Studio
- MGM / Sony Pictures
- Tagline
- Daniel Craig is James Bond!
3 Baron Samedi
‘Live and Let Die’ (1973)
Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder) was a Voodoo master who worked as a henchman for drug trafficker Dr. Kananga, known for his unique look with a top hat and skeleton body paint. Bond apparently shot and killed him twice, but he was revealed to be alive and well in the end, riding on a train and laughing, making him one of the few Bond villains to evade both capture and death.
Samedi’s use of voodoo and unique look were intimidating enough, but most terrifying of all, it wasn’t just an act. What truly made him intimidating was his apparent inability to be killed, implying there was something supernatural about him—which would make him impossible to defeat, and it’s hard to imagine Bond meeting his match. He literally got the last laugh in the end, and even that managed to be an unsettling moment all its own.
Live and Let Die
- Release Date
- June 27, 1973
- Director
- Guy Hamilton
- Cast
- Roger Moore , Yaphet Kotto , Jane Seymour , Clifton James , Julius Harris , Geoffrey Holder
- Runtime
- 121 minutes
- Writers
- Tom Mankiewicz , Ian Fleming
2 Jaws
‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ and ‘Moonraker’ (1977-79)
Jaws (Richard Kiel) was a professional assassin and henchman to Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens) in The Spy Who Loved Me, then later to Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) in Moonraker. Jaws was known for his stainless-steel teeth, which could bite through just about anything, as well as his immense height—he was over seven feet tall. He later switched sides and helped Bond take down Drax, and he even found love.
Jaws toed the line between silly and terrifying—what he lacked in brains he made up for with brawn. His appearance was what made him truly intimidating, from his immense height to his iconic teeth, which also made him one of the most recognizable Bond henchmen, as well as one of the most popular, and led to him outshining the true villain. It’s hard to imagine anyone but Bond encountering him and living to tell the tale.
The Spy Who Loved Me
- Release Date
- July 7, 1977
- Director
- Lewis Gilbert
- Cast
- Roger Moore , Barbara Bach , Curd Jürgens , Richard Kiel , Caroline Munro , Walter Gotell
- Runtime
- 125 minutes
- Writers
- Ian Fleming , Christopher Wood , Richard Maibaum
- Budget
- $13.5 Million
- Distributor(s)
- United Artists
- Franchise(s)
- James Bond
1 Franz Sanchez
‘Licence to Kill’ (1989)
Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) was the leader of a drug cartel in South America, with his pet chameleon by his side. He ordered CIA agent Feliz Leiter to be fed to a shark, leading him to be maimed and left for dead—after Sanchez had Leiter’s wife killed on their wedding night. When Bond (Timothy Dalton) learned of the incident, he went on a quest for revenge and set out to kill Sanchez.
While some of the most notable Bond villains were concerned with world domination, Sanchez’s goal was much smaller and more realistic—he simply wanted to expand his drug trade. And yet he managed to be one of the most intimidating villains in the franchise thanks to his cruelty. He was shown to be brutal and ruthless, and he killed people in some of the most horrific ways seen in the franchise.
