10 Characters Who Appear In The Most Bond Movies

Summary

• Supporting characters like Rublevitch and Frederick Gray provide depth and balance to Bond’s adventures.
• Notable characters like Felix Leiter and Q have evolved over the franchise, adding layers to Bond’s story.
• Each actor who has portrayed James Bond has brought a unique stamp to the iconic character, keeping audiences engaged.

On his own, he’s one of the most iconic movie characters of all time, but 007’s franchise has been shared by some memorable James Bond characters who have been staples of the movies. The 007 series has never been too concerned with continuity, but there is a mythology to these movies that has allowed certain characters to become expected participants in all of Bond’s adventures, namely his loyal allies within MI6. However, there have also been some notable supporting players who fans might not realize have frequent appearances.

With Bond himself as such a notable and memorable character, he doesn’t require a lot of help from his supporting players. The most iconic Bond villains and Bond girls have made their own legacy in the franchise, but for the most part, these characters only last for a single appearance. The other characters don’t often get explored in an in-depth way, even if they appear multiple times. However, their repeated presence in the movies makes them noteworthy elements of this legendary franchise.

10 Rublevitch

4 Movies

Rublevitch is the secretary to General Gogol, another character who makes several appearances in the Bond movies. She is essentially the Russian Moneypenny and only appears in scenes with Gogol. Despite the limited role, she is important enough that the franchise chose to recast her rather than simply create a new character.

Eva Reuber-Staier plays her in three movies, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, and Octopussy. The character was then played by Virginia Hey in 1987’s The Living Daylights.

Rublevitch doesn’t have much screen time in any of her appearances as she is often seen taking orders from Gogol or passing information on to him. Her presence gives the KGB more of a mirror image to MI6, with Gogol being like the equivalent of M. Unlike M and Moneypenny, it’s strongly hinted that Gogol and Rublevitch have a romantic relationship which adds a little bit of humor to her appearances even if it is never really explored.

9 Frederick Gray

6 Movies

Frederick Gray is the British Minister of Defense appearing in six Bond movies to date. Rare for a character who has appeared so often, Gray has always been played by the same actor, Geoffrey Keen. Gray made his first appearance in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me and was last seen in 1987’s The Living Daylights, spanning two different Bond actors’ time in the role – Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton.

When he is introduced in the franchise, it’s implied that Bond knows Gray well, calling him “Freddie” in a one-on-one meeting. In meetings with others, Bond calls him “Minister” as a sign of respect. However, after angrily catching Bond sleeping with Anya Amasova at the end of The Spy Who Loves Me, Gray’s attitude towards Bond changes, and he becomes much more critical. His role shows an expanded representation of the British government in the movies, making certain missions the focus for more than just MI6.

8 General Gogol

6 Movies

General Gogol is the Head of the KGB and has appeared in six Bond movies. Like Frederick Gray, Gogol was played by Walter Gotell in all of his appearances. In fact, Gogol appears in the same six movies as Geoffrey Keen’s Frederick Gray. Amid the Cold War setting, these Bond movies deal heavily with British and Russian relations. Gogol is mostly shown as an ally to MI6 fighting against a common enemy, though sometimes he’s seen as the competition.

Gogol and the KGB provide an interesting balance to M and MI6. Many missions affect both governments, and The Spy Who Loves Me finds Gogol and M sending Amasova and Bond, respectively, after the same thing. Gogol is notably seen opposing the risk of nuclear war in Octopussy. Despite the Cold War sentiment at the time, Gogol is never depicted as a villain or even an antagonist to Bond or the rest of MI6.

7 Ernst Stavro Blofeld

8 Movies

If there’s a main villain in the Bond series, it’s Ernst Stavro Blofeld. First seen as a faceless man holding a cat in a chair, Blofeld is eventually upgraded to a featured villain and the man at the center of SPECTRE. His two faceless appearances are played by Anthony Dawson and voiced by Eric Pohlmann. Blofeld is then the main villain for three films in a row, played by Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice, Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty’s SecretService, and Charles Gray in Diamonds Are Forever.

Blofeld killing Bond’s wife Tracy in On Her Majesty’s SecretService ties the first five Bond actors together, with the event being referenced in each actor’s tenure. This makes Blofeld’s presence last beyond his death in For Your Eyes Only, where he’s again portrayed as faceless for the prologue, this time by John Hollis. The character wouldn’t appear again until the separate Daniel Craig continuity, played twice by Christoph Waltz in a version who shares a past with Bond.

Further cementing his importance in the franchise, the Craig Bond movies make Blofeld an essential part of the character’s backstory. In Spectre, it is revealed that Blofeld was the secret puppet master behind all the missions and villains Craig’s Bond faced in the previous three movies. Not only that but it is also revealed that he is Bond’s long-lost foster brother, a twist that proved controversial among fans.

Blofeld was inspired by the father of one of Ian Fleming’s classmates.

6 Bill Tanner

8 Movies

Bill Tanner is the chief of staff to M and has appeared eight times in the Bond franchise. Unlike many characters, most of Tanner’s appearances have come in just the last 30 years. He was introduced in the films for 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun, played by Michael Goodcliffe, though he was seen only briefly and the role went uncredited.

He appeared again in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, played by James Villiers. Bernard Lee, the actor who originated the role of M, passed away just before filming the movie. Instead of recasting the role, the majority of M’s lines were given to Tanner with the explanation that M was on leave. After only two appearances in the first 16 Bond films, Tanner was made a more prominent character, appearing in six of the last nine installments.

Michael Kitchen played the character in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough, becoming the first actor to play the role twice. Rory Kinnear took over the role and played him in four of Daniel Craig’s outings. Kinnear’s Tanner is seen on screen much more and is normally right by M’s side. He’s also seen taking part in the plot more often, supervising Bond’s return to MI6 in Skyfall. Following Bond’s death in No Time to Die, Tanner is seen toasting his fallen comrade alongside the other MI6 characters.

5 Felix Leiter

10 Movies

Felix Leiter is Bond’s American ally from the CIA who has appeared in ten Bond movies going all the way back to the first one. However, the character has been played by seven different actors in that period. Jack Lord originated the role in Dr. No, Cec Linder in Goldfinger, Rik Van Nutter in Thunderball, Norman Burton in Diamonds Are Forever, David Hedison in Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill, and John Terry in The Living Daylights.

After being missing from the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies, the character made a return with Jeffrey Wright taking on the role opposite Daniel Craig in Casino Royale and went on the appear in Quantum of Solace and No Time to Die as well. Hedison and Wright are the only actors to play Felix more than once. Felix’s age is extremely varied in his appearances, with the actors being anywhere between 36 and 62 at the time of their movie’s release, while also changing from a Caucasian man to a Black man when Wright took the role.

Felix is often portrayed as Bond’s ally turned best friend, and sometimes they’re as close as brothers. License to Kill sees Felix take his largest role to date to that point as Bond attends his wedding. After an attempted assassination of Felix, the plot of the movie centers around Bond taking revenge on the drug lord who was responsible. Wright’s Felix also gets a substantial role in No Time to Die, showing the friendship between the two men and Bond’s emotional reaction when Felix is killed.

4 Q

22 Movies

Q is the “Quartermaster” of MI6 and the man who provides Bond with all of his memorable gadgets. Given that those are among the most popular aspects of the Bond franchise, it is not surprising that Q has appeared in most of the Bond movies to date with only four actors playing the role. Peter Burton had a brief one-movie appearance as the character in 1962’s Dr. No and he only presents Bond with the famous Walther PPK handgun.

The actor who is likely best associated with the role among Bond fans is Desmond Llewelyn, who played the role in an impressive 17 movies, starting with From Russia with Love and going all the way to The World is Not Enough. Llewelyn worked with every Bond actor save for Daniel Craig. John Cleese played the role twice, although his character was introduced as “R” in The World Is Not Enough. Ben Whishaw has played Q three times in the Craig movies.

Q’s gadget-giving scenes are a trope in the James Bond series, as are his quips with Bond during these scenes. Q provides some of the cool things viewers will see later in the movie, he provides a steady stream of comedy relief, and at the heart of it, he provides friendship to Bond, though he begins to feel more like a parental figure for Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton’s appearances.

In an unprecedented move for a supporting character in the franchise, when Llewelyn decided to retire from the role, Q announced his own retirement in The World is Not Enough, giving the actor a touching farewell after his long tenure.

Despite appearing in 17 Bond movies, Desmond Llewelyn only has about 30 minutes of screen time in the franchise.

3 Moneypenny

23 Movies

Moneypenny is sometimes seen as an MI6 secretary and sometimes an agent herself, showing how the character has evolved over the franchise. Four actors have played the role so far in the franchise, with Lois Maxwell holding the role for 14 movies, from Dr. No in 1962 to A View to a Kill in 1985. It was a Bond acting tenure only surpassed by Desmond Llewelyn’s run as Q. Caroline Bliss played the role for both of Timothy Dalton’s movies while Samantha Bond for the four Pierce Brosnan movies.

The only Bond films that Moneypenny did not appear in were the first two Daniel Craig movies but she was brought back for Craig’s third outing, Skyfall, with an updated take on the character. Naomie Harris stepped into the role and portrayed Moneypenny as an agent who went on missions alongside Bond. Of course, she was also the one who accidentally shot Bond on the opening mission in Skyfall.

Bond is often seen flirting with Moneypenny either before or after he meets with M. While they’re never romantically linked, Bond will often tell Moneypenny that she’s the one for him, and Moneypenny will expect some sort of gift or dinner invitation. While she plays along, there is also a sense that she understands the kind of man Bond is with the ladies and isn’t interested in actually going through with getting involved. However, Harris’ Moneypenny is also seen to pursue Bond, with it implied that they did sleep together, a first in the franchise.

2 M

24 Movies

M is the head of MI6 and Bond’s superior, appearing in all but one of the Bond movies with the role vacant in For Your Eyes Only, following Bernard Lee’s death. As with Q and Moneypenny, M has been played by four actors. Before his death, Lee set the record for portraying M 11 times from 1962’s Dr. No to 1979’s Moonraker. M was then played by Robert Brown four times, from 1983’s Octopussy to 1989’s Licence to Kill.

Judi Dench became the first female M and made eight appearances from 1995’s GoldenEye to her cameo in 2015’s Spectre. Ralph Fiennes was introduced as a character named Mallory who took over the role of M at the end of Skyfall and continued in the role for the remaining two Daniel Craig Bond movies.

M often gives Bond his missions in the films. Sometimes these scenes are simple and to the point, but other times M is seen maintaining a close relationship with Bond. This is especially true with Judi Dench, who many consider the best version of M. Skyfall put Dench’s M front and center with the plot revolving around a former agent seeking revenge on her. This led to M being killed off in Skyfall, the first time it happened in the franchise.

A portrait of Robert Brown and Judi Dench can be seen within MI6 in
No Time To Die
, establishing that the title is passed down.

1 James Bond

25 Movies

Naturally, the main hero himself has appeared in every movie of the series. James Bond been played by six actors within the franchise to date. Sean Connery originated the role in Dr. No and appeared in six movies from 1962 to 1971. George Lazenby is the only actor to have only a single appearance as Bond in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Roger Moore currently holds the record for most appearances with seven movies from 1973 to 1985. Timothy Dalton starred in two movies in 1987 and 1989 before Pierce Brosnan starred in four from 1995 to 2002.

Each actor has brought their own take to the character, putting their unique stamp on it while still being true to who Bond is.

Daniel Craig was introduced as the first new James Bond of the 21st century with his first appearance in 2006’s Casino Royale. He is the most recent Bond, having ended his run after five appearances with No Time to Die in 2021. That movie also featured a game-changing moment for the franchise, with Bond being killed off. However, Bond will return, as always promised, and there has been rampant speculation about who will take over the iconic role next.

Bond has changed much over the years but has remained the same in many ways. His womanizing has dwindled, allowing Bond to grow with the times and be a more respectful gentleman. Craig’s Bond saw the character become more layered while examining his legacy. However, each actor has brought their own take to the character, putting their unique stamp on it while still being true to who Bond is. It is part of the reason audiences are still interested in 007.