I consider henchmen as men in service to our main Bond villain with the female counterpart being a femme fatale, a gorgeous female in service to our main Bond villain. Somewhere in between are also women who lack the sex appeal of femme fatales but are nonetheless part of this ranking. However in order to qualify as a henchman/woman or femme fatale, the character must be sent to kill Bond or actively lure him to his death. A simple body guard or minor character is not sufficient to be ranked since they lack character development (think of the many body guards in The World is Not Enough). I am putting both men and women on the same ranking list because in service to our films, they fulfill much the same function. Almost all films in the series will have a ranking. Only Casino Royale is excluded since it does not have a formal henchman or femme fatale role. Additionally, some characters who are considered henchmen by others, I consider co-conspirators too prominent to be ranked here (General Ourumov and Koskov are good examples).
Without further ado, here is my subjective list of best henchmen and femme fatales of the Bond series!
36. Quantum of Solace: Elvis (Anatole Taubman)
Coming in dead last in one of my least favorite Bond films is this weird bumbling fool. Why even give such a forgettable character a name like Elvis? The only reason I can ever seem to recall this guy is for his horrendous bowl cut. There’s not even a quote or mention of him by other characters to provide his character context.
35. Thunderball: Vargas (Philip Locke)
This is another one who is neither memorable by name or face. His femme fatale counterpart in the film is far more interesting and dynamic, rendering him to a forgettable face in a Bond film that didn’t need his silent assassin services.
“Vargas does not drink, does not smoke, does not make love. What do you *do*, Vargas?” – Emilio Largo
34. Dr. No: Mr. Dent (Anthony Dawson)
He may get a memorable death at the hands of Bond, who utters his brilliant quip about the Smith and Wesson’s bullet capacity before shooting him to death. Otherwise this guy is pretty forgettable. The tarantula he sends to kill Bond is a better henchman than him, and that arachnid doesn’t even have the ability to envenomate! It’d still kill me of a heart attack if I found it in my bed…
[Dent out of bullets as he tries to shoot Bond]
“That’s a Smith & Wesson and you’ve had your six.”
[Bond shoots him twice]
33. Dr. No: Miss Taro (Zena Marshall)
This is a film, that since it was first, had yet to perfect the henchmen / femme fatale formula. Just like Mr. Dent, Taro doesn’t have enough screen time or presence to really stand out as memorable. I know she exists as a character, and that she attempts to honey-trap Bond, but she is just forgettable much like her assassin partner.
“What should I say to an invitation from a strange gentleman?” – Taro
“You should say yes.” – Bond
32. Skyfall: Patrice (Ola Rapace)
The henchmen of the Craig era are grounded and toned down to the point where they are simply efficient tools. The first one on our list of tools is Patrice, who fights Bond at two different occasions throughout the film, including the pre-credits sequence on the train. However after he is sent plummeting to his death in the first act, we never see him again. He is reduced to a plot point when he could have been so much more.
“Tell me! Who are you working for?”
[Patrice slips from Bond’s grip to plummet to his death]
31. No Time to Die: Primo (Dali Benssalah)
While Primo has a larger role serving both for SPECTRE and later Safin in a film I will never rewatch, he’s also another grounded/realism based henchman that is a formidable adversary but again lacking any sort of memorable qualities to him.
[To Q, after killing Primo with his EMP watch]
“I had to show someone your watch. It really blew their mind.” – Bond
30. Live & Let Die: Whisper (Earl Jolly Brown)
In a film with many outstanding villains, Whisper comes up short. He’s [literally] too quiet and lacks the screen presence of some other villains including those with mere cameos, like our cabbie. He’s not a bad part for he does have more to do than some others lower on this list. It’s just that he’s not very memorable either.
“Your champagne, sir.” – Whisper [barely audible]
“What?” – Bond
“Your champagne!” – Whisper [only slightly louder]
29. The Spy Who Loved Me: Naomi (Caroline Munro)
She’s pretty and harasses Bond in a helicopter, but that’s about it.
“What a handsome craft. Such lovely lines.” – Naomi
28. You Only Live Twice: Helga Brandt / No. 11 (Karin Dor)
A SPECTRE agent working for Blofeld, Helga is a femme fatale who seeks to eliminate Bond in rather creative and efficient ways. We see her work her charm and use her allure to lure Bond not only into a trap, but a trap where she hopes to do the deed herself (like Volpe). However, she’s not as memorable as Volpe despite being a near clone of her and so soon after Fiona’s femme fatale performance, she is sort of forgettable and derivative.
“I’ve got you now.” – Helga [having captured Bond]
“Well, enjoy yourself.” – Bond
[Helga slaps him]
27. You Only Live Twice: Hans (Ronald Rich)
He’s the big blond muscle that all the other big blond muscle throughout the series is based off of. Yet, that’s all he is, a ruthless killing machine without much agency or memorableness beyond his death in the piranha pond.
“Bon appetite.” – Bond [after chucking Hans into the piranha pond]
26. For Your Eyes Only: Emile Locque (Michael Gothard)
When I was writing my review immediately after seeing this film, I kept forgetting this guy’s name. I suppose that’s a good thing if your goal is to be an assassin. However, as an antagonist in a film, not so much. While we get the indentograph sketch of him via Q-branch, and he pops up all over the place before being kicked off a cliff in his Mercedes, he’s just sort of ruthlessly efficient without any sort of purpose beyond that efficiency. There’s no character development, calling card or motif that makes him stand out in the series. He’s boring, much like the film he occupies.
“You left this with Ferrara I believe.” – Bond
[kicks Locque and his stricken Mercedes off the cliff]
25. For Your Eyes Only: Kriegler (John Wyman)
The olympic biathlon athlete who hunts Bond down on skis is of a similar ruthless efficiency without an ounce of charm or memorable screen presence, similar to his ally Locque. He’s only rated higher than Locque for the fact that he at least gets his hands dirty in some proper fights and chase sequences. He does more work, and so perhaps he reaps the benefit of one higher ranking point. Not quite gold medal stuff but it’s better than being last.
“There’s Eric Kriegler!” – Bibi
“The East German champion?” – Bond
“Isn’t he beautiful?” – Bibi
24. Die Another Day: Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike)
One of our modern day femme fatales, Miranda Frost is one of a handful of women to occupy Brosnan’s Bond universe working against him. But in an era which gives us big-bad Elektra King and fellow femme fatale, Xenya, Frost falls well short of expectations. She gets a cool Bond girl vs. Bond girl sword fight against Jinx, but apart from that she’s sort of stoic, uninteresting and worst of all, hardly a threat.
“A palace of ice, you must feel right at home.” – Bond
23. Die Another Day: Zao (Rick Yune)
He’s visually striking, having gone from a relatively attractive Korean man to a weird hybrid of caucasian-asian with a face scarred with diamonds. Apart from being a loyal lackey to Graves/Moon, he’s just not well developed or given much to do outside chase Bond around an ice palace when he’s not sitting under a plastic surgeon’s predator mask.
“You know I’ve missed your sparkling personality.” – Bond
22. SPECTRE: Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista)
A brutal, silent and tireless enemy who stalks Bond throughout this film. He’s competent and serviceable, but still a derivative henchman in a film series full of them. Efficient like a spreadsheet, as memorable as a Microsoft Teams task. The fight with Bond aboard the train is a highlight, but Red Grant did it better.
[After ejecting Hinx from the train]
“What do we do now?” – Madeleine Swan to Bond
21. Tomorrow Never Dies: Stamper (Götz Otto)
He’s ruthless, he’s efficient and he’s got exactly one facial expression. He’s also a clone of many blond heavies who came before him, and yet without any personality to justify his addition. He’s just strong and very German and yet there is another “German” who deserved to be the outright henchman in this film.
“I owe you an unpleasant death Mr. Bond.” – Stamper
20. Moonraker: Chang (Toshirô Suga)
Played by a real-life Aikido instructor, he’s the guy in the ge who yells a lot when trying to kill you (cue Elliot Carver’s mocking karate bit). While he gets a memorable fight against Bond in the glass factory, he’s quickly replaced by Jaws as the main heavy in this outing.
“Play it again, Sam!” – Bond
19. The Living Daylights: Necros (Andreas Wisniewski)
He’s got a cool slick vibe, like American psycho. His trademark assassination with the headphones is a neat gimmick. He’s got the body and physique of a Ken doll. And then that’s about it.
“Who’s that for?” – Koskov
[knocking him out with his gun]
“You, comrade!” – Necros
18. License to Kill: Milton Krest (Anthony Zerbe)
I happen to like the character of Krest for his realism, he feels like a sleazy Florida businessman crook, the kind of sleaze ball that would hang around Mar-a-Lago. As a Bond henchman, he’s not especially threatening or memorable like the villains to come or even the villains around him in this film. He is best remembered for his gruesome death at the hands of main villain, Franz Sanchez.
“That’s not my money, I swear!” – Krest
“That’s right, amigo. It’s mine!” – Sanchez
17. License to Kill: Dario (Benecio Del Toro)
Benecio Del Toro is just not given enough screen time to make a more lasting impression despite having terrific screen presence in the scenes he actually does occupy. A shame because he is a fantastic actor. But in this he is just the chilling knife wielding henchman of a far more sinister villain.
“Where is my wife?” – Leiter
“Don’t worry. We gave her a nice Honeymooooon.” – Dario
16. The World Is Not Enough: Renard (Robert Carlyle)
What a waste of Robert Carlyle. He’s given a really cool premise to work with, the lack of pain, but we never see that materialize in the film’s plot apart from his introduction at the Devil’s Breath and his inability to feel pleasure. He is overall underutilized and at times comes across a bit cucked by our female big-bad, and therefore feels weak.
“You wouldn’t commit suicide for her.” – Bond
“You forget. I’m already dead.” – Renard
“Haven’t you heard? So is she.” – Bond
[Renard flies into a rage]
15. Tomorrow Never Dies: Dr. Kaufman (Vincent Schiavelli)
He is one of the best bit parts in the whole series, but as a henchman it’s all he is given to do: show up and die. A brilliant character actor, Schiavelli absolutely steals the scene he is afforded. I can’t help but wish this was the main henchman of the series, and not Stamper. “I am just a professional sent to do a job.” And what a job he did to make it so far up this list with such minimal screen time.
“Please, no. I am just here to do a job.” – Kaufman
[shooting him execution style]
“Me too.” – Bond
14. OHMSS: Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat)
A place outside the top ten may be a controversial placement to some, but I have always seen the character of Irma Bunt as derivative to Colonel Klebb. Only a few films after the standout From Russia with Love, it doesn’t feel very fresh a characterization for this Blofeld ally. Yet she is as icy as the surroundings in this film and in spite of being derivative, she is still memorable. Of course she also delivers the deadly shot which kills Bond’s wife. Steppat commands excellent screen presence overall but somebody does it better (as Carly Simon might sing in a parallel universe).
“Is anything ze matter, Sir Hilary?” – Irma Bunt
[surrounded by gorgeous women, one whose hand is on his leg]
“Just a slight stiffness coming on… due to the altitude, no doubt.” – Bond
13. Goldeneye: Boris (Alan Cumming)
Another outstanding bit part in a series well known for them. He’s a wormy little guy quite incapable of killing anyone outright, but like others on this list, he’s more than happy to lead or leave our heroes to a violent fate. He ranks highly for the comedic relief he brings as Alan Cumming leaves a lasting legacy with one of the most memorable one-liners in Bond film history:
“I am invincible.”
12. Diamonds are Forever: Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (Bruce Herbert Glover & Putter Smith)
This diabolical duo is among the only standouts of an otherwise dreadful film. Their psychopathy and trademark one-liners following their bizarre methods to off series antagonists and allies alike make them well regarded, but still just outside the top ten.
“The scorpion.” – Mr. Wint
“One of nature’s finest killers, Mr. Wint.” – Mr. Kidd
“One is never too old to learn from a master, Mr. Kidd.” – Mr. Wint
11. Live & Let Die: Tee-Hee Johnson (Julius Harris)
Julius Harris is physically imposing with excellent screen presence. With a hand like captain hook and trademark deep voice, he’s larger than life and often used for great comedic effect. I enjoy every scene he’s in but he’s not the most memorable villain of this outing.
“There are two ways to disable a crocodile, you know.”
10. Thunderball: Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi)
Volpe is the original femme fatale of the series, refuting Bond’s advances to get her to turn good. She remains loyal to SPECTRE throughout the film, and is far more lethal in effectiveness than many of the male henchmen in this outing. She’s absolutely stunning and so memorable that she even manages to upstage the main villain, Emilio Largo, whenever she is on screen with him. Too bad like Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd she is in one of my lower ranked Bond films.
“But of course, I forgot your ego, Mr. Bond. James Bond, who only has to make love to a woman and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents, then immediately returns to the side of right and virtue… [stepping on his foot] but not this one” – Fiona Volpe
9. Octopussy: Gobinda (Kabir Bedi)
He’s arguably the most effective of henchmen in that he always seems to be a step ahead or just barely behind Bond. He’s got really great staying power, which almost makes him feel like a frustrating inevitability. We get numerous great exchanges between him and Bond. The final stunt atop the airplane is a series standout.
“The Englishman has escaped.” – Gobinda
8. A View to a Kill: May Day (Grace Jones)
Grace Jones captures your attention with a gripping performance and standout style, subverting the expectations of what a femme fatale role can actually be. She is a terrific counterpart to Zorin, and her hero turn at the end adds some emotional weight.
“Somebody will take care of you.” – May Day
“Oh, you’ll see to that personally, will you?” – Bond
7. From Russia with Love: Colonel Klebb (Lotte Lenya)
She leaves a lasting impression on the series with her stern, shrill presence and poisonous shoe weapon. Eager to do the deed, she makes a formidable and tireless enemy. Despite limited screen time compared to the other standout henchman of this film, she steals the show in many ways with her incredible screen presence. Klebb epitomizes the henchwoman role in film, playing what is neither a henchman or a femme fatale, but a brute of a woman hell-bent on getting in Bond’s way for her boss. This characterization would serve as inspiration for henchwomen to come, notably Irma Bunt in this series but also in parody and action films outside the Bond franchise.
“Horrible woman.” – Tatiana
“Yes, she had her kicks.” – Bond
6. Live and Let Die: Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder)
Eccentric, seemingly supernatural, and among the most instantly recognizable in the entire franchise, that iconic laugh will forever haunt anyone who has seen this film. A shame he was so underutilized, competing for screen time against a large ensemble cast of villains. Nonetheless, like Colonel Klebb, in spite of the lack of time spent with us he leaves an indelible impression on our franchise.
“It’s sure gonna be a beautiful day, isn’t it?” [laughs menacingly] – Samedi
5. The Man with the Golden Gun: Nick Nack (Hervé Villechaize)
Years before Fantasy Island and decades before Southpark, Villechaize burst onto the scene with an unforgettable performance as Christopher Lee’s butler Nick Nack. What makes him so effective is not just that he is a little person, but the creepiness afforded to him and his dialog. He sneaks around the film like a devious and murderous little minion, which is effective given the game of cat and mouse central to the film’s premise. He’s not for everyone, but he’s a standout alongside Christopher Lee’s Scaramanga in an otherwise dull film.
“I’ve never killed a midget before. But, there can always be a first time.” – Bond
4. Goldeneye: Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen)
There have been many femme fatales, roles both large and small, in the Bond film universe but none leave quite as large a mark as Famke Janssen’s portrayal of Xenia Onatopp. Sexy, ruthless and kinky with her trademark crush, she outshines just about every other villain in this film, even the main one (Alec Trevelyan). Her sexual chemistry with Bond, despite the fact they never seal the deal, adds for great humor and uniquely sexy action (the Ferrari race, and the bathhouse fight).
“No, no, no. No more foreplay!” – Bond
3. From Russia with Love: Red Grant
Red Grant sets the tone for how muscle will be portrayed in the films to come. He’s physically imposing, a violent inevitability with staying power and a man of few words. He genuinely feels like Bond’s espionage equal, creating suspense throughout the film while working for SPECTRE to kill Bond for good and stealing the Lecter. His assassination of an MI6 agent and subsequent impersonation of him feels like something Bond would do, as it is something Bond would do. The fight between them on the train is arguably the greatest, most realistic fight in the entire series.
“Red wine with fish. Well, that should have told me something.” – Bond
“You may know the right wines, but you’re the one on your knees. How does it feel old man?” – Grant
2. Goldfinger: Odd-Job (Harold Sakata)
He’s perhaps the single most identifiable henchman on this list, only after number one. While silent throughout the entire film (outside “Aha!”), his physical presence in every scene elevates his menace to not just memorable but iconic. The serrated top-hat he uses to throw at targets, statue and human, gives him one of the most standout villain-trademarks of the series. Beyond his trademark, he’s also a physical obstruction as well with strength that can bend bars or crush golf balls. But Bond one-ups him in the end in electrifying fashion:
“He blew a fuse.” – Bond [to Leiter re. Odd-Job]
1. The Spy Who Loved Me & Moonraker: Jaws (Richard Kiel)
The only henchman to appear in more than one film, Jaws is the standout and most iconic henchmen of the series in my eyes. A case could of course be made for Odd-Job, or even Red Grant, but in my subjective view it’s Jaws. I absolutely love both films he is in, even if he is portrayed more to comedic effect in the latter outing. In fact it’s the plays for laughs that makes him so enjoyable. I love when he smiles at Bond, and then Bond returns a smile of his own. You can’t take a giant man with a jaw full of steel and play him straight. Even in TSWLM we last see him biting into a shark with lethal effect (arguably a play for laughs as well). Sure he’s more terrifying in TSWLM as he is more successful in his hitman role. However in Moonraker the film enjoyably makes fun of both his lethality but also his invincibility (while at the same time making fun of Bond’s plot armor). Overall I love Jaws and find him to be not only the best henchman but if combined with villains, one of the best Bond villains of all time. He is synonymous with this franchise in the best of ways.
“Do you know him?” – Dr. Goodhead
“Not socially, only by name. His name is Jaws. He kills people.” – Bond
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