Bond’s antagonist is a critical to the movie as 007 himself - a great villain can elevate a screenplay to new heights, much like Mads Mikkelsen did as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. But a poor villain can derail a performance, as the character of Lyutsifer Safin in No Time To Die.
Whether it’s a compelling villain, or an actor’s performance that brings gravitas to the role, there are many ways a villain can make or break a Bond movie. Some have even gone down as cult classics in cinema as a whole, being parodied or inspiring other performances.
Here are the 10 best James Bond villains of all-time, including one character that was only meant to be a henchman... but arguably stole the show.
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1. Dr No (Dr No)
Joshua Wiseman's Dr No was the first villain of the franchise, playing a curteous and proper man who was, regardless, insane - plotting world domination on behalf of the organisation Spectre. | EON
2. Max Zorin (A View To A Kill)
Christopher Walken's character came up against an ageing Roger Moore in 1985, playing the role of smug yet restrained Max Zorin. Walken gave an incredible performance, along with sidekick May Day (Grace Jones). | Hulton Archive via Getty Images
3. Francisco Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun)
Played by legendary actor Christopher Lee, this Thespian brought gravitas to the middle-aged sharpshooter. We're not convinced the character really needed a third nipple, though. | AFP via Getty Images
4. Alec Trevelyan (GoldenEye)
The first James Bond film I ever saw was GoldenEye, and I was immediately hooked by Sean Bean's villain, Alec Trevelyan. His revenge story after being 'betrayed' by 007 was compelling, and Bean gave a stellar performance. | EON