Which actors have played Ernst Stavro Blofeld in James Bond? Across the span of 24 official films and 57 years of big screen espionage action, James Bond has encountered a wide array of supervillains, most of whom come with the customary madcap henchmen, overblown masterplans and facial disfigurements. But among the myriad of criminals 007 has brought to justice, Blofeld stands out as Bond's undisputed arch-nemesis.
The head of the villainous SPECTRE organization, Blofeld has been the puppet master behind many of 007's foes and so often the cause of his greatest moments of misery. Intent on global domination and the sole reason why white cats will always be associated with evil geniuses, Blofeld's feud with Bond has played out across multiple eras and against various different incarnations of the famous spy. Ian Fleming first introduced Blofeld in Thunderball, but the character was brought into the movie series a little earlier in From Russian With Love.
Blofeld's status as an iconic villain is such that the SPECTRE mastermind has become a popular source of parody. Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame was based entirely on the character and if you've ever sat in a swivel chair and been tempted to swing around 180 degrees and say "I've been expecting you Mr. Bond" in a faux-European accent, that's straight from Blofeld - even if the character never actually says those precise words. Here is every actor to portray Blofeld on film.
Anthony Dawson/Eric Pohlmann
When Blofeld debuted in 1963's From Russia With Love, secrecy was very much the order of the day. Blofeld is seen secretly orchestrating the events of the movie, ordering Rosa Klebb to steal the Lektor decoding device and acting as Kronsteen's handler. Blofeld's name is never uttered here, with the shadowy villain merely called "Number 1" in recognition of his position at the top of SPECTRE. Nor do the audience ever see Blofeld's face - only the iconic cat being stroked in his lap is visible at this point. Strangely, a brief glimpse over the top of Blofeld's chair does reveal a full head of slicked-back hair.
Although Blofeld was not officially credited in From Russia With Love, he was physically portrayed by Anthony Dawson, the actor who played Professor Dent in Dr. No, while the creepy Blofeld voice was provided by Eric Pohlmann. This same pair returned for Blofeld's second Bond appearance in 1965's Thunderball, where the name and face are yet again obscured.
Donald Pleasence
The first Blofeld to appear properly in the James Bond franchise was played by Donald Pleasence in 1967's You Only Live Twice. After years in the shadows, Blofeld's promotion to lead villain marked the end of the first James Bond movie era, as Sean Connery was set to step down after one last jaunt. Blofeld plans to trigger a war between the U.S. and Russia in this 007 adventure, sending a string of assassins to kill James Bond and ensure his plans aren't interfered with. The henchmen are all unsuccessful, and this means fans finally get the long-awaited face-to-face confrontation between Bond and Blofeld. Naturally, Bond helps foil Blofeld's plans, but the supervillain escapes to cause trouble in another movie.
Beyond the white cat, Pleasence was largely responsible for establishing the Blofeld character on film. You Only Live Twice introduced key traits such as the baldness, facial scars and volcano base, but Pleasence brought the maniacal glare and twisted, dark humor. While there's no real consensus on the most popular Blofeld, Pleasence can almost certainly be considered the most important, though this is a little ironic as the actor was only a late replacement. Blofeld was originally supposed to be played by Jan Werich, but Pleasence was drafted in when it became clear during filming that Werich wasn't right for the role.
Telly Savalas
Considering how Pleasence defined the part of Blofeld, it's odd that the actor didn't reprise his role in James Bond's next offering, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Released in 1969, OHMSS marked 007's first regeneration, with George Lazenby taking over from Sean Connery. Despite Lazenby being entirely inexperienced as an actor and receiving mostly terrible contemporary reviews, Bond's producers saw something in the Australian - the more rugged action hero Bond they were looking for. Keeping in line with this ethos, Eon decided to recast Blofeld as well as Bond, and Telly Savalas took custody of the white cat from Donald Pleasence.
This incarnation of Blofeld threatened the world with a biological attack after brainwashing 12 women and sending them out into the world. Bond manages to stop his nemesis, and although Blofeld escapes, his suffers a nasty bobsleigh accident during his exit. In a dark turn, a neck brace-sporting Blofeld returns in the film's final moments to gun down Bond's new wife. Though Savalas would also only appear for a single turn, his Blofeld performance matched the remit set by Eon, taking on the air of a mob boss as opposed to Pleasence's criminal mastermind.
Charles Gray
There's no explicit reason as to why Telly Savalas didn't return as Blofeld in 1971's Diamonds Are Forever. Either Eon had formed a tradition of recasting the villain after every appearance by this point, or producers simply wanted to leave On Her Majesty's Secret Service in the past after poor reviews and George Lazenby's departure. Whatever the case, Charles Gray stepped into the role opposite a returning Sean Connery as James Bond, but the results didn't exactly have Bond fans on the edge of their seats. Like Anthony Dawson, Gray had appeared previously in the franchise, playing Dikko Henderson in You Only Live Twice.
As Blofeld, Gray lacked both the creepiness of Pleasence and the physical presence of Savalas, instead coming across the lightest, campiest Blofeld yet. This wasn't helped by the SPECTRE chief cloning himself through use of plastic surgery and wearing all manner of costumes, including an unconvincing disguise as a woman in one infamous scene. Gray's Blofeld planned to destroy Washington D.C. and hold the world to ransom, and although the character once again looks to have been killed by the film's climax, his true fate is left open.
John Hollis/Robert Rietty
The legal rights to Blofeld and SPECTRE came under question in 1973. The villain was originally devised by Ian Fleming alongside Kevin McClory, who had helped the author devise an early potential movie script that was never used. Fleming took the concept of Blofeld for his Thunderball novel, and an agreement was struck between Eon and McClory that allowed Blofeld to be used on the big screen, but that deal would expire after a decade. This meant the James Bond franchise was legally unable to use SPECTRE or Blofeld throughout the Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan eras... but they still gave it a damn good try.
In 1981's For Your Eyes Only, a figure who looks suspiciously like one Ernst Stavro Blofeld is seen bald, in a wheelchair and sporting a neck brace, all as if Diamonds Are Forever never happened. Due to the legal wrangling, Blofeld is never named or shown explicitly. His brief appearance in For Your Eyes Only sees Roger Moore captured in a remote-control helicopter until 007 manages to turn the tables on this unnamed assailant and drop him down a large chimney. Much like Blofeld's anonymous early appearances, For Your Eyes Only makes use of a composite performance, with John Hollis providing the physical reference for "No-feld" and Robert Rietty dubbing the voice.
Max Von Sydow
Eon might not have been able to use SPECTRE in the 1980s, but Kevin McClory certainly could. Warner Bros. set about making their own, non-official James Bond movie with 1983's Never Say Never Again, and an aging Sean Connery was back once more as 007. Returning to his former role as the mysterious leader of SPECTRE loitering in the background and pulling the strings, Blofeld made his cinematic comeback, this time played by Max Von Sydow, the legendary actor perhaps best known to modern audiences as the Three-Eyed Raven from Game of Thrones.
Max Von Sydow only played a minor role in Never Say Never Again, with main villain duties falling instead to Maximillian Largo, SPECTRE's foremost agent under Blofeld. Although McClory was involved in the production of Never Say Never Again, he strangely retained the idea of Blofeld having a white persian cat. This is an element that never featured in Fleming's books, and was added to the character chiefly for the Eon movies. Perhaps after seeing Eon take a few liberties with their "I Can't Believe It's Not Blofeld" stunt in For Your Eyes Only, McClory felt he could borrow something back.
Christoph Waltz
Kevin McClory passed away in 2006, and the legal issues surrounding Eon's use of Blofeld and SPECTRE were resolved in 2013, which meant Bond's most notorious villain could finally appear in the Daniel Craig era after a lengthy hiatus. Christoph Waltz was cast as the iconic criminal for 2015's Spectre and just like Craig revolutionized 007 in Casino Royale, Waltz brought a grounded realism to a villain that had become the subject of much parody during the intervening years. This Blofeld wasn't bald, but did have the facial scarring of the original, and while he wasn't constantly accompanied by a white cat, Spectre was kind enough to feature the feline as an Easter egg.
Undoubtedly the biggest change to Blofeld, however, is his backstory. After a young Bond's parents died, the future 007 was put into the foster care of the Oberhauser family and developed a strong relationship with the father, Hannes. This attracted the ire of Hannes' biological son, who killed his father and vanished, eventually becoming the super-criminal known as Ernst Stravro Blofeld. Bearing a personal grudge against Bond, the entirely of the Daniel Craig era is retconned to be the work of Blofeld - an awkward transition considering the franchise had already started introducing Quantum as a replacement evil organization. Waltz is set to return as Blofeld in the upcoming No Time To Die, marking the first occasion a credited Blofeld has been played by the same actor in more than one James Bond movie.
