Daniel Craig makes his final appearance as 007 James Bond in “No Time to Die” this Friday.
WTOP’s Dave Preston is ranking the Best of Bond in a different category every day this week.
Today, we’re ranking the Best Bond Villains.
Let the countdown begin!
5. Sophie Marceau as Elektra King in “The World is Not Enough”
The scheme seems standard: detonate a nuke to increase her business interests. Except Elektra King and James Bond share a certain chemistry that initially blinds 007 to her deviousness. The fact that she’s partnered with the man who kidnapped her years before can’t lend any stability to the situation.
4. Louis Jourdan as Kamal Khan in “Octopussy”
After classics like “Letter from an Unknown Woman” (1948) and “Gigi” (1958), Louis Jourdan brings a suaveness to the part that rivals 007’s charm, plus a certain sinister focus that keeps you on edge. He also eats stuffed sheep’s head — without needing ground pepper.
3. Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva in “Skyfall”
The fallen MI6 agent isn’t shy about showing off his new jaw, nor getting uncomfortably frisky with 007. Hellbent on revenge, Silva is one step ahead of Bond for most of the film — and actually is successful in his plan to bring down M.
2. Telly Savalas as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”
Donald Pleasance’s version of Blofeld slides into an impatient teenager still needing his teddy bear, while Charles Gray’s take is more of a foppish dandy. Savalas plays SPECTRE’s “number one” as somebody with enough brains (designing a biological warfare scheme) and brawn (he chases 007 on skis) to rival Bond.
1. Gert Frobe as Auric Goldfinger in “Goldfinger”
He loves gold. Only gold. Obsessiveness is a necessary quality in a supervillain. He’ll cheat at cards and at golf … while using his Rolls-Royce to smuggle gold in the most ingenious way. And Bond is squarely in the way of his crime de la crème, Operation Grandslam. Do you expect him to talk? No, he expects you to die!
Click here to reach the table of contents for all of our Bond rankings.
