The one actor who hated playing a James Bond villain: “He was horrified”
There are certain things a James Bond movie would feel incomplete without: there need to be gadgets, immaculately tailored tuxedos, a martini that’s shaken but not stirred under any circumstances, a love interest or two, and a memorable villain, preferably with a hidden lair inauspiciously looming somewhere.
When anyone thinks of the best Bond films, the chances are high they’ll feature one of the secret agent’s most unforgettable enemies. Goldfinger‘s Oddjob, From Russia with Love‘s Red Grant, Richard Keil’s recurring Jaws, The Man with the Golden Gun‘s Francisco Scaramanga, and Casino Royale‘s Le Chiffre are all woven into the franchise’s legacy. Sadly, the opposite is true for the least forgettable antagonists.
Octopussy‘s Kamal Khan, Quantum of Solace‘s Dominic Greene, Die Another Day‘s Gustav Graves, and Licence to Kill‘s Franz Sanchez are among the many wet blankets 007 has come up against over the years, and it’s not a coincidence the weakest villains have a recurring habit of appearing in the weakest features.
The looming threat of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, as played by several different actors, gave him the honour of becoming Bond’s most formidable adversary, but only one actor has the distinction of being the first. Sean Connery was a movie star from the second he first appeared onscreen in Dr No, even if the same can’t be said of his opposite number.
Julius No carries several traits that would become synonymous with Bond villainy, not least of all the role being played by a classically trained thespian with an extensive background in theatre who was bestowed a physical appendage to make him stand out from the common hoodlum: in this case, a pair of prosthetic hands.
There’s nothing wrong with his performance, even if the titular villain is eminently forgettable in the grand scheme of Bond’s ongoing exploits. However, Wiseman probably wishes he’d never agreed to take it on at all after being left fuming that regardless of anything else he’d accomplished throughout his career, the one thing he’d always be remembered for above all others was getting on the wrong side of Connery.
One of Broadway’s most celebrated veterans, Wiseman’s first appearance treading the boards in New York was in 1938, and his last came in 2001. That’s a hell of a legacy to leave behind and impressive longevity, never mind the dozens upon dozens of film and television appearances he made between those two points. And yet, upon his passing in October 2009 at the age of 91, his family hinted that the most famous gig of his professional life was a source of immense frustration.
His daughter told the Los Angeles Times that instead of looking back fondly on being the first James Bond villain, he viewed Dr No with “great disdain,” especially for how it impacted him afterwards. “He was horrified in later life because that’s what he was remembered for,” she said. “Stage acting was what he wanted to be remembered for.”
Unfortunately, being cast as the villain in the first instalment of one of pop culture’s most monolithic properties will have that effect, and there was nothing Wiseman could do about it.
