Bond At The Oscars: Part One - The Actors

Skyfall's main antagonist, Raoul Silva, is played by Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Bardem won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in No Country For Old Men (and has also been nominated for his performances in Before Night Falls and Biutiful). 

However, Bardem is not the first Oscar-winning actor to appear in a Bond film.

Sean Connery

OK, so his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Untouchables was years after he hung up the tux (even if you include Never Say Never Again), but the fact still remains that- to date- Connery is the only actor to play Bond to have been nominated or has won a competitive acting Oscar.

Christopher Walken

Walken had already walked away with his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Deer Hunter before he took on the role of Max Zorin in A View To A Kill. He was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Catch Me If You Can.

Benicio Del Toro

Del Toro played Dario, one of Sanchez's henchmen, in License To Kill. It was one of his first film roles and he would go on to have a very successful career, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Traffic (and being further nominated for his role in 21 Grams).

Judi Dench

The third incarnation of M, Dench won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Shakespeare In Love in 1999 after she had already appeared in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. She has also been nominated for Best Actress for Mrs. Brown, Iris, Mrs. Henderson Presents and Notes On A Scandal, and for Best Supporting Actress for Chocolat.

Halle Berry

Berry made history when she became the first African-American actress to win a Best Actress Oscar (on her first nomination) for her role in Monster's Ball. She then went on to play Jinx in Die Another Day.

Other Oscar nominees that have appeared in Bond films are:

• Lotte Lenya (Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love; nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone)

• Robert Shaw (Donald ‘Red’ Grant in From Russia With Love; nominated for Best Supporting Actor for A Man For All Seasons)

• Telly Savalas (Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Secret Service; nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Birdman Of Alcatraz)

• Topol (Columbo in For Your Eyes Only; nominated for Best Actor for Fiddler On The Roof)

• Minnie Driver (Irina in GoldenEye; nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Good Will Hunting)

• Giancarlo Giannini (Rene Mathis in Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace; nominated for Best Actor for Pasqualino Settebellezze [Pasqualino: Seven Beauties])

• Ralph Fiennes (Mallory in Skyfall; nominated for Best Actor for The English Patient, and Best Supporting Actor for Schindler’s List)

• Albert Finney (Kincade in Skyfall; nominated for Best Actor for Tom Jones, Murder On The Orient Express, The Dresser and Under The Volcano, and Best Supporting Actor for Erin Brockovich)

In the next post, we look at which Bond films have been nominated for an Oscar... and which films have won!