Felix Leiter
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Template:James Bond Character Felix Leiter is a fictional character invented by Ian Fleming in the James Bond books, who also appears in the Bond movies. Leiter works for the CIA, and assists Bond in his various adventures, although in Licence to Kill Leiter had transfered to the DEA.
In the 1954 American television adaptation of Casino Royale, which featured Barry Nelson as CIA agent Jimmy Bond, his opposite number became British secret agent Clarence Leiter.
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Character biography
Leiter makes his first appearance and introduction to James Bond in the very first Bond book, Casino Royale. He is an ex- member of the US Marine Corps, now working at NATO Headquaters. In Live and Let Die, the second Bond novel, Felix is fed to a shark by Mr. Big's henchmen and ends up losing an arm and a leg. He is subsequently invalided out of the CIA, but continues to appear throughout the novel series, sometimes working as a private detective for Pinkertons, (as in Diamonds Are Forever) and sometimes working on behalf of another agency. He played a major role in Fleming's final novel, The Man with the Golden Gun, where has been transferred to the CIA to assist in the breakup of the syndicate headed by Scaramanga.
In the movies, Leiter is a CIA agent in all appearances except in Licence to Kill in which he now works for the DEA.
A number of the movies feature Leiter, but the character is frequently recast and as a result has not achieved the memorable status that other characters such as M, Q and Miss Moneypenny have achieved. In fact, Leiter appears in a total of eight movies, played by seven different actors, widely varying in physical characteristics and even race (Leiter was portrayed by an African-American actor in the unofficial Bond film, Never Say Never Again).
In the movies Bond and Leiter meet for the first time in Dr. No, the first Bond movie. The film version of Live and Let Die does not contain the sequence with the shark, and Leiter survives intact to help Bond again, however, Leiter's final film appearance would be in Licence to Kill where he would be fed to a shark by the villain Franz Sanchez. The film version of Leiter lost only one leg at the knee to the shark, although one arm was seriously injured. Although severely mutilated, Leiter would still remain alive. In addition to this horrible atrocity, his newly-married wife is raped and murdered by Sanchez's henchmen. This act and the act of Leiter being nearly killed would send Bond on a quest for vengeance which forms the movie's central plot. For this film the producers sought to secure David Hedison, who had previously played Leiter in Live and Let Die and widely considered to have been one of the best and nearest to memorable actors to play the part.
Leiter's status is unknown since he has not been seen since the 1989 movie. In more recent films the character of Jack Wade has appeared as the regular representative of the CIA, ostensibly because the producers did not want to feature a crippled Felix as they are trying to distance themselves from Licence to Kill.
After John Gardner took over writing the James Bond book series, Felix made an occasional appearance. The novel For Special Services introduces Felix's daughter, Cedar Leiter, who is also a CIA agent (and briefly Bond's latest romantic conquest), while in Win, Lose or Die U.S. President George Bush (making a cameo appearance in the novel) mentions working with Leiter in his previous capacity as CIA director.
Actors
Actors who have played Felix Leiter in the films (in order of appearance):
Official
- Jack Lord (Dr. No - 1962)
- Cec Linder (Goldfinger - 1964)
- Rik Van Nutter (Thunderball - 1965)
- Norman Burton (Diamonds Are Forever - 1971)
- David Hedison (Live and Let Die - 1973)
- John Terry (The Living Daylights - 1987)
- David Hedison (Licence to Kill - 1989) (the only recurring actor)
Unofficial
- Michael Pate (Casino Royale - 1954) - as Clarence Leiter
- Bernie Casey (Never Say Never Again - 1983)
See also
External links
- The Bond Film Informant: Felix Leiter (http://www.mjnewton.demon.co.uk/bond/felix.htm)