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.
5. Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me)
Perhaps one of the most iconic villains of the entire franchise, Jaws - played by Richard Kiel - certainly gave Roger Moore's Bond a hard time. Jaws is the sort of character that could be revived in the future, but you'll need a giant actor... Kiel was a staggering 7in 2ft tall, after all. | Danjaq/Eon/Ua/Kobal/Shutterstock
6. Le Chiffre (Casino Royale)
The Daniel Craig era had some incredible (and some woeful) villains, and Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre was nothing short of superb. From his poker skills to surprising depth as a character, Le Chiffre is a big reason why Craig's debut was such a resounding success. | EON
7. Oddjob (Goldfinger)
Played by professional wrestler and actor Toshiyuki 'Harold' Sakata, Oddjob was meant to simply be a henchman - but with iconic moments and a brutal fight scene with Sean Connery, he simply had to make the list. A reminder though... if you played as Oddjob against your friends in the N64 GoldenEye video game, you are and always will be a terrible person. | Keystone/Hulton Archive via Getty Images
8. Raoul Silva (Skyfall)
A charismatic performance from Javier Bardem put a genuinely exciting spin on a 007 villain - who killed off not only a Bond girl but another of the main characters too, in a gripping revenge plot. | Danjaq/Eon Productions/Kobal/Shutterstock