James Bond is one of literature and cinema’s most beloved action heroes. But every hero needs an adversary. Often used to propel the plot, becoming a major obstacle in Bond’s objective, the moniker of Bond villain has grown to be just as crucial to any Bond film as to who’s donning the infamous tux and sipping that iconic shaken martini. Sometimes becoming just as infamous as the character himself, a spectacular Bond villain must not just be evil and diabolical; they must truly put up a worthy fight for our hero. They can’t be cookie-cutter bad guys.
From meticulous masterminds to Herculean henchmen, the furious foes within the James Bond universe have emerged as terrific terrors. Listen, if they’re stellar, they can lift a pretty low-ranking film from the cellar. Maybe they’ve gone toe-to-toe with 007 or simply sit firmly on their throne in their evil lair. As long they play a pivotal part in the story, they’re a worthy villain. Selecting the strongest ten from a list of more than 100 potential names is no easy feat, but we love these villains for being so bad, they’re good.
Max Zorin
‘A View to a Kill’
If there’s one actor in Hollywood who can transform from part to part and yet have a signature style, look no further than Christopher Walken. Whether he intends to make you chuckle or not, his cadence separates him from every other performer. To wrap up the Roger Moore era, Walken takes on Max Zorin in A View to a Kill. A psychopathic industrialist, the product of a Nazi genetic experiment, Zorin’s mission is to destroy Silicon Valley to gain a monopoly in the microchip market. Perhaps a plot that could be conceivable in today’s Silicon Valley universe, Walken brings an innate humor to the role. Bringing a sense of camp to his unpredictable villain, Walken may be too zany for some, but he did bring an homage to the villains in the early days of the franchise.
By bringing a completely unhinged energy, Zorin was absolutely delicious to watch. As a character who found pleasure in diabolical acts, Zorin’s hands-on villainy made him one dangerous foe. Absolutely one of the most fascinating aspects of Walken’s Zorin was his pairing with henchwoman and lover May Day, played by Grace Jones. Perhaps an unlikely screen duo who seemed too odd to be true, Walken and Jones still made it work, providing a brilliant cherry on top to Moore’s tenure.
Elektra King
‘The World is Not Enough’
There may be some readers who might vehemently disagree with this, but let’s all go on a journey together and celebrate the villainy of Elecktra King. In The World is Not Enough, Pierce Brosnan’s Bond is tasked with protecting the daughter of an oil heiress at all costs. But not everything is what it seems. Cunning, manipulative, and deceitful, Elektra is the true mastermind by outsmarting Bond and subverting expectations. She is no damsel in distress. She is the epitome of a femme fatale.
What makes her a perfect villain was she wasn’t the villain until she actually was. Portrayed by Sophie Marceau, her ability to play the bait-and-switch effortlessly delivered a spectacular performance. Having all the control, it’s not Renard (Robert Carlyle) who is the big baddie but Elektra herself. That said, the big showdown was still given to the men instead. Elektra opened up the door for the potential of more female primary villains. We’re just waiting for it to happen again.
Alec Trevelyan
‘GoldenEye’
The Pierce Brosnan era of Bond began with GoldenEye. This film didn’t give fans an over-the-top evil, maniacal villain to do battle with. Instead, Bond faces off against a friend turned foe: former MI6 agent, Alec Trevelyan. Played by the incomparable Sean Bean, this villain was one who knew the methods of a 00 agent, making him a formidable opponent. After faking his death at Arkhangelsk, he then establishes the Janus crime syndicate over the following nine years. Tinged with Soviet allegiance, seeking to help the Russians use the stolen satellite weapon “GoldenEye,” Trevelyan seeks vengeance against Britain for past betrayals to his family.
Because he is an intellectual and physical equal to Bond, Trevelyan has the prowess to keep up with Bond, unlike other villains who tend to fall behind. He’s a dark mirror to our hero. Bean’s performance is quite layered in realism with a cunning and cynical approach. Trevelyan marked a new direction for the Brosnan era, perhaps being the best villain of this period.
Elliot Carver
‘Tomorrow Never Dies’
Though it may not be a completely solid film, easily the best part of Tomorrow Never Dies was its villain: Elliot Carver. Played by Jonathan Pryce as a media manipulator, this nemesis brought a contemporary essence that could easily be dropped into a Bond story today. With a mission to start World War III, he has a Steve Jobs-like charm that hides the more sinister ruthlessness that evokes Bond baddie to the core. With an actor like Pryce in the part, Carver brought a theatrical presence that served the character well. Robust with monologuing and grandstanding, Pryce elevated Brosnan’s second Bond film.
At the time, Carver’s “ripped from the headlines” style character may have felt cartoonish, but he was rooted in a Rupert Murdoch sensibility. Though there’s no proof of his desire to start a global conflict, his desire to own headlines resonates in a way that makes Carver utterly fascinating now. Carver is a chilling villain with a terrifying desire to manufacture conflict for media dominance that embodies the current rise the rise of misinformation, making him surprisingly prescient. Looking back with a modern mindset, Carver has become an underrated villain that deserves more credit than the film provides.
Le Chiffre
‘Casino Royale’
For the sake of this list, we’ll be referencing the 2006 version of Casino Royale and Mads Mikkelsen’s iteration of Le Chiffre. Why? Because the parody version holds no candle to this ultimate bad guy. The first film in Daniel Craig’s tenure, Casino Royale, saw 007 on a mission to stop Le Chiffre, a terrorist financier, in a high-stakes poker game at a casino in Montenegro. An associate of SPECTRE, his genius proved to be a great threat to Bond. Not a mastermind like other villains, Le Chiffre was a snake in a tuxedo.
Perhaps best known for the brutal torture scene, Mikkelsen proved that he would become one of the greatest actors to take on villain parts in the 21st Century. A truly terrifying presence, he was rooted by instilling fear. He was an exquisite sparring partner for Bond, thanks in part to the brilliant performances by Mikkelsen and the first time 007. Though the Craig era had some truly formidable foes, we’ll never forget the blood-weeping gambler.
Francisco Scaramanga
‘The Man With the Golden Gun’
Without question, one of the most remarkable actors of all time is Christopher Lee. Pinpointing specifically what his greatest role was is a near-impossible feat, but if we want to discuss a legendary moment, look no further than his foray into the world of James Bond as Francisco Scaramanga in The Man With the Golden Gun. The Roger Moore-era film saw a cat-and-mouse game between our hero and villain as the assassin with the golden firearm intends to kill 007 after sending him a warning gift of a golden bullet. Though he had an adoration for his target, the sharpshooter was on a mission beyond world domination.
Lee brought a charismatic layer to Scaramanga that seemed to be the villainous equivalent to Bond. Perhaps his desire for the finer things in life, Lee gave his villain a sophistication that wasn’t completely littered in caricature. Scaramanga wasn’t evil like many other villains, which made him unique in his own right. That said, the triple nipple baddie was a character trait that surely wouldn’t have worked as well as the title Ian Fleming gave. Though the film may be lacking, Lee’s character was the highlight of the Moore-era Bond film.
Red Grant & Rosa Klebb
‘From Russia with Love’
This may be cheating but we had to go with a dynamic duo because they’re so legendary. The film is From Russia with Love, and our villains are Red Grant and Rosa Klebb. Played by Robert Shaw and Lotte Lenya, they were both pawns in the greater SPECTRE experiment. The Cold War spy thriller with Sean Connery in the lead watched as the organization sought to kill Bond after previously taking out Dr. No. Red Grant was a cunning SPECTRE assassin, while Klebb was a loyal former SMERSH colonel who was better known as No. 3.
Individually, these villains would be mid-tier, but together, in the film’s greater arc, they were extraordinary henchmen. The physical domination that Red Grant had over Bond, especially on the Orient Express, allowed him to profoundly earn the moniker of a brutal. There could be a universe in which he succeeded in his defeat of Bond. Klebb, for her part, was a psychologically threatening mastermind who was the evil architect. She was a conniving and cunning woman that sincerely could have taken Bond out of the story provided. Lenya exudes evil woman. Both villains’ deaths are monumental for the film and among the best of the early era.