James Bond's Felix Leiter actor Jeffrey Wright, who returns in No Time to Die, says he’s “surprised” he wasn’t in Skyfall or Spectre. 007’s CIA contact and friend was first introduced in Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale and went on to appear in five more of the author’s James Bond books. He made his movie debut in 1962’s Dr. No with Jack Lord in the role.
Though Leiter would never become a major player in the early James Bond movies, he would be brought back several times with multiple actors taking on the character. Cec Linder played Leiter in 1964’s Goldfinger, then gave way to Rik Van Nutter for 1965’s Thunderball. Leiter appeared again in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever with Norman Burton in the role. David Hedison then took over in 1973’s Live and Let Die, the only time Leiter would appear during the Roger Moore run of Bond films. Leiter would come back for the Timothy Dalton era in 1987’s The Living Daylights with John Terry in the role, and again for 1989’s License to Kill with Hedison getting a return engagement (making him the first actor to play Leiter twice). License to Kill would famously see Leiter being maimed by a shark during torture, prompting Bond to seek revenge. The character would go missing again during the Pierce Brosnan era but returned with all limbs intact for 2006’s Casino Royale with Wright making the first of what would be three appearances.
Wright would of course make his second appearance as Leiter in 2008’s Quantum of Solace and will take his third turn in the upcoming No Time to Die. Between those films, two Bond movies were made without Wright as Leiter, and the actor admits he was taken aback when he did not get the invitation to return for Skyfall or Spectre. Speaking to Total Film (via GamesRadar), Wright said: “The surprise for me was to not be called in the previous two!” He admitted, “But it gives more weight to Felix’s appearances if we don’t see him too often.”
Wright also spoke about Leiter’s relationship with James Bond, which is picked up again very early in No Time to Die, as the film begins with the old friends catching up in Jamaica five years after the Leiter-less events of Spectre. “We wanted to establish what is at the core of this relationship between them, which is this brotherhood,” Wright explained. Things don’t remain so casual for long however as Leiter soon tells 007 that Spectre is back in business, which prompts the supposedly retired secret agent to return to action one last time.
It’s no surprise obviously that No Time to Die begins with Bond being plunged back into the spy world, as there would be no movie otherwise. And it makes sense of course that Leiter would be the one dispatched to get Bond back in the game, as he’s arguably the one person in the world Bond trusts more than anyone else. It’s also right on a casting level to have Wright back for the final Craig-era Bond given the integral part he played in the first two films. The James Bond series may not have needed Leiter for Skyfall and Spectre but it sounds like he plays an important role in No Time to Die. Of course it’s always great to see Wright in anything, as he’s one of the most commanding character actors in movies and TV at the present time.
Source: Total Film (via GamesRadar)
