Same Actors-Different Characters

edited August 2012 in Actors Posts: 315
One of the few things I would change in many Bond movies is the casting of the same actor in different roles. Three come to mind:
Martine Beswick-She was the dancer in the opening credits for 'Doctor No'-OK, you only see her dancing. But she was the gypsy girl in 'From Russia with Love' and Paula in 'Thunderball'
Charles Gray-He played Henderson in 'You Only Live Twice' and is knifed from behind and then played Blofeld in 'Diamond Are Forever'-he dies there too.
Joe Don Baker-He played Whitaker in 'The Living Daylights' and dies. Then he shows up in 'Goldeneye' and 'Tmorrow Never Dies' as Wade.
I'm thinking any role in a Bond movie would have thousands of actors lined up for the chance. Were the producers just lazy or had friends in high places?

Comments

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited August 2012 Posts: 13,355
    It may be a case of 'keeping it in the family' and thinking along the lines of 'why go elsewhere?'.
  • Posts: 140
    I thought you meant having actors that were in Bond films playing a different character,. For example, I always thought Alison Doody should have played a 'leading' Bond girl instead of Jenny Flex in A View to a Kill. Though she did fill out the riding trousers very well.
  • Posts: 2,341
    The other gypsy girl in FRWL was the dancer and the woman Bond had the rendezvous with in the PTS of GF...

    Girl who played "Dink" in GF was the model whose Body was shown during the opening credits...

    One of the technicians at Bloefeld's volcano control room played the Ling the Chinese Agent in GF (gunned by by Auric)

    One of the NASA techs in YOLT played the cmdr of the US nuclear sub in TSWLM

    Maud Adams played in TMWTGG and Octopussy in OP...



  • edited August 2012 Posts: 4,813
    Shane Rimmer played Commander Carter in TSWLM after having bit-parts in YOLT & DAF

    Jan11171.jpg
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Posts: 4,521
    Bérénice Marlohe playing Sévérine in Skyfall mabey have been a better Solange in CR then the actres there choose. Of course it not only be the actres what i think be the problem with solange, i only like her death scene. The Astin Martin joke whasn't funny at all. The only good thing about it be the scene he walking a way and it confirmd he only yused for his job.
  • doubleonothingdoubleonothing Los Angeles
    Posts: 864
    We had a huge thread on the last forum on this. There were loads of crossovers. My favourite is the plucky young naval officer who gets wasted in TSWLM only to be blown up in the PTS of MR.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    That's right. The "actors who have appeared in more than one James Bond film". @w7 and many others had fun putting that together.

    I think there's even a car driver who is in both For Your Eyes Only and The Living Daylights!
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    George Baker Played Sir Hillary Bray in OHMSS and an Admiral in TSWLM

    and Walter Gotell played a SPECTRE henchman in FRWL and General Gogul in TSWLM-TLD
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Murdock wrote:
    George Baker Played Sir Hillary Bray in OHMSS and an Admiral in TSWLM

    He also had an uncredited role as a NASA technician You Only Live Twice.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    Samuel001 wrote:
    Murdock wrote:
    George Baker Played Sir Hillary Bray in OHMSS and an Admiral in TSWLM

    He also had an uncredited role as a NASA technician You Only Live Twice.

    Hmmm I didn't know that. I also know that in The Man With The Golden Gun, Roger Moore also played the cowboy dummy.

  • Posts: 114
    My personal fave is the one soldier in Goldeneye keeps showing up after being shot numerous times. He appears alot during the archives breakout, short black hair can't find a screengrab but watch it back, one moment he gets shot while running up the stairs, then once Bond runs off he pops up again as a different guy at the top of the stairs.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited August 2012 Posts: 12,480
    Shane Rimmer played Commander Carter in TSWLM after having bit-parts in YOLT & DAF

    Jan11171.jpg

    Nice pics, thanks. And I always remember him from Thunderbirds, too. (well his voice anyway ...)

    Personally I would loved to have been in any Bond movie, in any role (extra, bit part, etc.) I'm sure working on a Bond film is an unforgettable experience for all concerned.
  • TokolosheTokoloshe Under your bed
    Posts: 2,667
    We had a huge thread on the last forum on this. There were loads of crossovers. My favourite is the plucky young naval officer who gets wasted in TSWLM only to be blown up in the PTS of MR.

    Only just noticed this for myself while watching MR so had to look it up. The actor's name is Kim Fortune - yes that's a bloke, and no it's not a porn star name (to my knowledge).
  • edited February 2014 Posts: 1,009
    Burt Kwok played the Chinese ally of Goldfinger and a Japanese radio operator on YOLT
    I think Jeremy Bulloch played one of the members of the British submarine crew on TSWLM and Smithers, Q's assistant.
    And Maud Adams, that rumored extra role on AWTAK... Anyone knows if it's an urban myth?
  • edited February 2014 Posts: 6,396
    Can't remember the actor's name but he's the guy who "drops out" of Zorins airship in AVTAK and gets shot by Connery's rocket cigarette in YOLT.

    Also, Tsan Chin plays Ling in YOLT and one of the poker players in CR.
  • Burt Kwok played the Chinese ally of Goldfinger and a Japanese radio operator on YOLT
    I think Jeremy Bulloch played one of the members of the British submarine crew and Smithers, Q's assistant, I think.
    And Maud Adams, that rumored extra role on AWTAK... Anyone knows if it's an urban myth?

    No it actually occured. Adams was in San Francisco at time of filming and becoming an extra in the crowd was arranged. That said, I've never seen her in near 30 years since this was released over many viewings, but she is included

    If you want to see 'different actors - different characters', you would do worse to check out Sergio Leone's dollars trilogy incidentally. "I've seen that face before" - and one time too many..
  • Posts: 6,396
    Burt Kwok played the Chinese ally of Goldfinger and a Japanese radio operator on YOLT
    I think Jeremy Bulloch played one of the members of the British submarine crew and Smithers, Q's assistant, I think.
    And Maud Adams, that rumored extra role on AWTAK... Anyone knows if it's an urban myth?

    No it actually occured. Adams was in San Francisco at time of filming and becoming an extra in the crowd was arranged. That said, I've never seen her in near 30 years since this was released over many viewings, but she is included

    If you want to see 'different actors - different characters', you would do worse to check out Sergio Leone's dollars trilogy incidentally. "I've seen that face before" - and one time too many..

  • edited February 2014 Posts: 1,009
    Burt Kwok played the Chinese ally of Goldfinger and a Japanese radio operator on YOLT
    I think Jeremy Bulloch played one of the members of the British submarine crew and Smithers, Q's assistant, I think.
    And Maud Adams, that rumored extra role on AWTAK... Anyone knows if it's an urban myth?

    No it actually occured. Adams was in San Francisco at time of filming and becoming an extra in the crowd was arranged. That said, I've never seen her in near 30 years since this was released over many viewings, but she is included

    If you want to see 'different actors - different characters', you would do worse to check out Sergio Leone's dollars trilogy incidentally. "I've seen that face before" - and one time too many..

    You tell me, I'm Spanish... ;) And my Grandpa worked on Spaghetti Westerns, one of them starring Broderick Crawford, with... Odoring consequences...
  • Burt Kwok played the Chinese ally of Goldfinger and a Japanese radio operator on YOLT
    I think Jeremy Bulloch played one of the members of the British submarine crew and Smithers, Q's assistant, I think.
    And Maud Adams, that rumored extra role on AWTAK... Anyone knows if it's an urban myth?

    No it actually occured. Adams was in San Francisco at time of filming and becoming an extra in the crowd was arranged. That said, I've never seen her in near 30 years since this was released over many viewings, but she is included

    If you want to see 'different actors - different characters', you would do worse to check out Sergio Leone's dollars trilogy incidentally. "I've seen that face before" - and one time too many..


    This calls for a bluray revisiting of the film. Thanks again, dude!
  • Posts: 1,817
    Does Robert Brown and Marc Lawrence apply in this thread? Put differently, do you think they played different characters in TSWLM and OP-AVTAK-TLD-LTK, and in DAF and TMWTGG, respectively?
  • 0013 wrote:
    Does Robert Brown and Marc Lawrence apply in this thread? Put differently, do you think they played different characters in TSWLM and OP-AVTAK-TLD-LTK, and in DAF and TMWTGG, respectively?

    We know Lawrence played Rodney in Golden Gun, but not sure of his character name in Diamonds are Forever. "I didnt know there was a pool down there"

    Brown was of course M from 83 -89 after Lee's departure, while in The Spy Who Loved Me played a Royal Navy Admiral, so guess we can seperate the two for this one
  • Never really thought of it that way, until you mentioned it. Interesting..
  • It's probably misleading information anyway. Pots of Gold at the end of rainbows and all that..
  • edited February 2014 Posts: 1,817
    Even if Lawrance have said it, the movie as a text didn't make it clear, althought is possible.
    @Baltimore_007, it could be said that Hargreaves was promoted to M after his careen in the Navy as Messervy before him.
    But mind that even Dench - Brosnan's and Craig's - could be understood as different "characters"!
    Just another mystery in the Bond series...
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,590
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Thanks for finding that thread @QBranch! I see we already have quite a detailed list there.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,590
    @Samuel001 No probs- you've compiled quite an extensive list of returning actors there. It's interesting to note the variety and importance of specific actor's roles, ie. actors who went from a minor role to important role. Charles Gray surely takes the cake- going from a fairly minor role as Henderson to significant role as Blofeld. Shane Rimmer and Martine Beswick also gained more important roles with each return.
  • Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Kerim Bey's girlfriend in FRWL also the girl in the GF PTS?
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 14,590
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Kerim Bey's girlfriend in FRWL also the girl in the GF PTS?
    Yep, Nadja Regin, and pretty much every other returning actor is listed in the above link.
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