7 of the best Bond villains

Every Yin needs its Yang and without a villainous nemesis to pit himself against, James Bond is really nothing more than a drunk – albeit a handsome and well-dressed womanising drunk (sorry, James). Luckily for him and his reputation, he’s never been left wanting when it comes to murderous criminal masterminds to go up against. Whether it’s megalomaniac billionaires, femme fatales or giant assassins with steel teeth, Bond’s faced some pretty unforgettable bad guys in his time as 007.

Here are our favourite James Bond villains…

The best James Bond villains:

7. Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) in Goldeneye

The first rival to come up against Pierce Brosnan’s Bond, Trevelyan – like Javier Bardem’s Silva in Skyfall – is a former MI6 agent. In fact, he’s 006, so he’s more than a match for Bond. In fact, this psychotic mastermind is very much the Mr. Hyde to James’s Dr. Jekyll.
 

6. Dr. Julius No (Joseph Wiseman) in Dr. No

A brilliant but insane nuclear scientist, Dr. No is the eponymous bad guy with prosthetic hands and a penchant for venomous spiders. And being boiled alive.
 

5. Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) in The World Is Not Enough

Arguably the most beautiful Bond girl of all time too, Sophie Marceau’s Elektra King also happens to be one of the most devious and ruthless villains. A devilish combination that, unsurprisingly, fools Bond for a good while…
 

4. Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) in A View To a Kill

Born in Nazi Germany, this Aryan businessman is as charismatic as he is devious. It’s soon uncovered that he’s a product of Nazi experimentation to create ‘super children’, which has gifted him superhuman intelligence. As well as a sociopathic need for world domination (naturally). Zorin stands out because of Christopher Walken’s electric, if slightly hammy, performance.
 

3. Oddjob (Harold Sakata) in Goldfinger

Auric Goldfinger’s sidekick Oddjob is an iconic baddie. A short, squat but unbelievably strong Korean with a black belt in karate and ‘arms like thighs’, his razor-rimmed bowler hat means he’s certainly someone to avoid playing frisbee with. Also, as if he didn’t have enough unique features, he has a cleft palate, rendering him unintelligible to everyone but his employer.
 

2. Jaws (Richard Kiel)

A hired gun par excellence, the enormous figure of Richard Kiel’s Jaws can be spotted in two ‘70s Bond films, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. In the first, he’s a metal-toothed henchman who demands Bond think outside the box during a particularly testing scrap. In the second, he softens and even ends up helping Bond take down the film’s main baddie, Hugo Drax. So he might not be the most evil bad guy, but with those gnashers, he’s certainly not one you forget in a hurry.
 

1. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (various actors) in various films

The archetypal Bond miscreant, the cat-loving Blofeld is due to be rebooted in the upcoming Sceptre by German actor Christoph Waltz. He’s got big boots to fill though; those belonging to Charles Gray, Telly ‘Kojak’ Savalas, Donald Pleasance and Max von Sydow. He’s everything you want from a Bond villain. Although those lapel-free Chairman Mao-style grey suits do nothing for him.

Of course, it simply had to be Blofeld in the top spot. And as mentioned, Ernst Stravo is back in the new 007 film new out at the end of the year. Get a glimpse of him in the new teaser trailer for Spectre right here.

What do you think of our list? Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Do we expect you to talk? No, readers, we expect you to comment…