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Felix Leiter - James Bond Wiki
Who he is:

  • A former CIA and one-time DEA agent who acts as Bond's primary liaison through several films.

Actors:
  • Jack Lord (appeared in Dr.No)
    • John Joseph Patrick Ryan or better known by his stage name Jack Lord was an American actor who first portrayed the role of CIA agent Felix Leiter in Dr.No. The producers didn't ask him to reprise the role of Leiter since they felt that having the same actor over and over might upstage Sean Connery's dominance as the leading man. He later became well known as Steve McGarrett on the hit TV show "Hawaii Five-O". Alledgedly, Lord's demand for equal billing and higher salary also influenced the decision to change the character.
  • Cec Linder (appeared in Goldfinger)
    • Cec Linder was a Canadian actor (of Polish descent) who was famous for playing American characters in various films and television shows
  • Rik Van Nutter (appeared in Thunderball)
    • Rik Van Nutter was an American actor who appeared in many minor films
  • Norman Burton (appeared in Diamonds Are Forever)
    • A graduate of the Actors Studio, this veteran character actor also appeared in "Escape from the Planet of the Apes," "Fuzz," "Save the Tiger," and "The Towering Inferno," as well as countless television shows.
  • David Hedison (appeared in Live and Let Die and Licence To Kill)
    • Prior to Bond, Hedison's biggest roles were in the original "The Fly" and as Lee Crane on television's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." He's (so far) one of the two "Leiters" to have appeared in more than one movie (the other being Jeffrey Wright).
    • Felix's role in Licence to kill was central to the plot : he is shown as Bond's best friend, Bond is his Best Man at his wedding, his maiming at the hands of Sanchez (he was fed to sharks and lost one leg) and his wife's murder on their honeymoon cause Bond's quest for vengeance. Bond finishes off Sanchez with his groomsman's gift, a Della and Felix 'lighter'.
    • The Felix Leiter character would disappear during the Brosnan era to be replaced with Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker, who also played villain Brad Whitaker in The Living Daylights). Presumably, this was done to avoid dealing with having to explain the events of the shark attack on Leiter and his subsequent amputations in License to Kill. Because of the reboot, Leiter returns completely ambulatory in Casino Royale.
  • John Terry (appeared in The Living Daylights)
    • John Terry has also appeared in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket," and David Fincher's "Zodiac," and on tv mini-series "Into the West," as well as recurring roles on "Lost" and "24."
  • Jeffrey Wright (appeared in Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace)
    • Jeffrey Wright's first film role was in "Presumed Innocent" and he's never looked back. He won a Tony and Emmy Award for his role in "Angels in America," starred in "Basquiat," as well as roles in "Shaft," "The Manchurian Candidate," "Broken Flowers," "Syriana," and "Lady in the Water." He reprised the role of Felix Leiter in Quantum of Solace. "A brother from Langley", is the reference to his CIA background.

The 'unofficial' Felix Leiters:


Best Lines:
  • "You Limeys can be pretty touchy about trespassing." - Dr. No (1962)
  • "You should have faith. As long as you keep your head about you, I think you have him." - Casino Royale (2006)



Started By Thread Subject Replies Last Post
Anonymous Who is the BEST Felix Leiter? (page: 1 2) 21 Aug 1 2012, 7:33 AM EDT by Anonymous
 
Thread started: Apr 4 2009, 10:39 PM EDT  Watch
For those of you who have also read the original Fleming books, I think Rik Van Nutter (Thunderball) looked the most like the way Felix is described in the Fleming books. Jack Lord and John Terry get a second place from me.
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Anonymous Felix Leiter 11 Apr 6 2009, 1:38 AM EDT by QuartermasterQ
 
Thread started: Jul 29 2007, 1:57 AM EDT  Watch
They should've kept Jack Lord thru-out the series(maybe they could'nt because of Hawaii 5-0)but it would have gone along with M and Moneypenny and Q as the same actors in the series,and lent continuity to the supporting cast.Plus Felix and Bond became close friends in the books which may have boosted the films appeal.And what happend to Felix being in Pinkertons after the shark savageing in Live and Let Die??
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