Jack Lord

Many are very familiar with the James Bond empire, but few (including Bond enthusiast) have ever paid close attention to his CIA counterpart and trusted cohort Felix Leiter.  As I viewed Quantum of Solace  for the second time in a week, I came to appreciate Leiter’s integrity and cunning ability to know the difference between right and wrong. Not so much from a moral standpoint, but the skill to know who to trust and when to trust them (A skill Bond is still grappling with in this film.)

Leiter’s character has been with Bond since the first film Dr. No (1962), played by the suave Jack Lord, later of Hawaii Five-O fame. A mysterious character in the first few frames in that film, we come to realize that Leiter is as laid back and cool as Bond as well as a capable guide for 007 in the rocky days of the Cold War and SPECTRE. With his designer shades and tailored suits, Lord’s portrayal was discontinued after the Dr. No film in fear that he would overshadow Sean Connery’s Bond. For Goldfinger (1964), director Guy Hamilton chose the much older Cec Linder to play Leiter, who came off more police detective rather than covert CIA agent.

Jeffrey Wright

After countless other actors played the role (not in every Bond film) producer Barbara Broccoli, daughter of the Bond franchises original executive producer Albert Broccoli, decided to put Felix Leiter on the shelf after his character was severly bitten by a shark in Timothy Dalton’s License to Kill. In exchange the U.S. was represented in the Bond franchise by the Hawaiian shirt clad and overweight Jack Wade who would often refer to Bond as ”Jimbo.”

CIA agents Beam and Leiter (Quantum of Solace)

As Daniel Craig assumed the role of Bond, Brocolli reprised Leiter’s role the latest two films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, portrayed by Jeffrey Wright. Wright captures Leiters original mystery and describes himself as Bond’s “brother from Langley” (Langley, Virginia - CIA headquarters). Wright’s Leiter often bucks his superiors decisions in order to achieve the greater good similar to Bond, yet he doesn’t seem to have Bond’s rough and uncontrollable edges. Wright is the first person to play Leiter in two consecutive films and the second to portray him twice, the first being David Hedison.