Favourite Felix Leiter?

Jarvio

For me, it's definitely David Hedison, (LALD, LTK). He had great chemistry with Bond, was cool, slick, reliable, and generally a decent actor.

Second place would go to Jack Lord, (DN), for similar reasons to DH. Lord was slick, cool, and original.

I didn't care for any of the other Felix Leiters.

7289

I am putting my hopes on Jeffrey Wright. Leiter is a thankless role, and I doubt anyone will ever get a good shot at it.

Leiter in the books is nothing more than an American version of oo7 (alot less lucky though) and even Fleming once regarded him as disposable and nearly killed him in "Live and Let Die".

The best way to handle old Felix would be to feature him in Bond 22 then kill him early in Bond 23, and (ala LTK) use that as plot motivation. I don't think LTK really exploited Leiter as well as they could have. I think EON has always dreaded a Leiter "spin off".

Pendragon

David Hedison by a long shot. LOVED him in LTK and LALD...absolutly LOVED... {[]


~Pen -{

James F E

Until Jeffery Wright came along, I liked Jack Lord in the role. I think that Wright can really give a good show as Felix. -{

Loeffelholz

7289 wrote:

even Fleming once regarded him as disposable and nearly killed him in "Live and Let Die".

I'd quibble with the notion that Leiter was regarded as 'disposable;' Fleming tended to actually dispose of disposable characters Other than Bond's Secret Service allies in Regents Park, no character appeared in more novels.

'Nearly killed him' is a notable distinction, as Bond himself was nearly killed countless times...

I really did like David Hedison...but my hopes are high for Jeffrey Wright in the future...

RogueAgent

Mine is clearly and without a doubt David Hedison. I met him at a comic con a few years back...damn he's taller than I originally thought. What a nice guy and a gentleman. Even autographed a photo for me of him and Dalton on it. I have yet to frame this baby.

He told me how they filmed the "shark scene" in LTK.


Jeffrey Wright's an amazing actor and he could grow on me if he makes more appearances and is given more lines in what I like to call the "Ultimate Bond" universe.

Tee Hee

What a surprise. CR's most loyal and devout followers (namely 7289 and Loeffelholz) are willing to place their money on Wright even though he lacked sufficient dialogue and screen time in his first outing as Felix Leiter. How predictable. :v

Daniel Craig is the best James Bond, Eva Green is a high ranking Bond girl, Giancarlo Gianinni rivals Pedro Armendariz for the title of best Bond ally, and now Jeffery Wright has the potential to be the best Felix Leiter. Please start a "henchmen" thread, because I would love to hear them rave about Clemens Schick. 8-)

I personally consider David Hedison to be the quintessential Felix Leiter. Jack Lord is a close second. The rest are pretty forgettable. Jeffery Wright was so underused in CR that it is hard for me to make a judgement about him. Perhaps he will play a more significant role in Bond #22...

Loeffelholz

Tee Hee wrote:

What a surprise. CR's most loyal and devout followers (namely 7289 and Loeffelholz) are willing to place their money on Wright even though he lacked sufficient dialogue and screen time in his first outing as Felix Leiter. How predictable. :v

Daniel Craig is the best James Bond, Eva Green is a high ranking Bond girl, Giancarlo Gianinni rivals Pedro Armendariz for the title of best Bond ally, and now Jeffery Wright has the potential to be the best Felix Leiter. Please start a "henchmen" thread, because I would love to hear them rave about Clemens Schick. 8-)

I personally consider David Hedison to be the quintessential Felix Leiter. Jack Lord is a close second. The rest are pretty forgettable. Jeffery Wright was so underused in CR that it is hard for me to make a judgement about him. Perhaps he will play a more significant role in Bond #22...

How obnoxious.

I'm too tired to fight just now, so I won't. Obviously, looking at my signature, I don't claim Craig is the best. Yes, I think Ms. Green ranks high as a Bond girl. I gave Giannini 'honourable mention' in my list of one-off allies. Jeffrey Wright's Leiter was---like his literary counterpart---merely introduced in CR, and served to save 007 (financially) from himself 8-)

I think Jeffrey Wright is a fine actor who, if given an opportunity, will shine as Felix Leiter. Sue me.

Forgive me, but any opinion you give on CR is highly suspect.

7289

For the sake of accuracy I said I was "putting my hopes on Jeffrey Wright" I actually failed to endorse a single actor as the "best" Leiter.

I don't think Wright had sufficent time on screen to make anything other than an "impression" as Felix. I haven't even seen him confirmed to be in Bond 22 - so maybe he won't return!

That is just the problem. None of the screen Leiters get much play at all. Only Hedison has had te chance to play Felix twice and its no coincidence he is the hands down favorite.

Some FL casting has been "daft" - Cec Linder and Norman Burton seem deliberate throwaways. Jack "Stoney Burke" Lord wasn't well known until after Dr. No was long in the can. By the time "Goldfinger" came around he got a big head and priced himself out of what could have made him the definitive Leiter of all time.

Rik Van Nutter (more famous as Anita Ekberg's hub) looked the part, but didn't have a single good close-up and was given the Lazenby "voice over". I would vote for him as "best" Leiter except all he has are lines like "That's only 48 hours from now." or real poppers like "That's only 12 hours from now." Van Nutter is nothing but a grey haired coo-coo clock!

So who's the best Leiter, well in my view Hedison has the only clean shot at it because he actually did two films. But his exasperation with oo7 is OTT in LALD. He is better in LTK, but the whole tone of that film is far less comedic.

I don't think there is a "best" Leiter. The part has been about as important as the shadow girls in the credits. Leiter is like alot of the bimbo girls who sleep with Bond so he can have real clever lines like "I'll lick you into shape" or "Doesn't Christmas only come once a year!"

Until Leiter becomes more of a charecter, and has meaningful screen time - it's just a matter of whether you like blondes, burnettes or redheads.

Jeffrey Wright may be the best hope or the most squandered. It's too early to tell. As for the rest - just flip a coin.

BTW: In Fleming's original LALD manuscript Leiter is killed! One of the first readers of that manuscript convinced IF that Leiter was too good a charecter to kill and Fleming restored Felix to life by changing a couple of words!

Loeffelholz

7289 wrote:

BTW: In Fleming's original LALD manuscript Leiter is killed! One of the first readers of that manuscript convinced IF that Leiter was too good a charecter to kill and Fleming restored Felix to life by changing a couple of words!

That's interesting. I hadn't heard that.

Mark Hazard

My favourite was Rik Van Nutter, because he was nearest to the literary Felix. He must have made his mark on the character because I understand that he was actually signed to play Felix in further Bond movies - although never used and I assume the contract was scrapped.

Pendragon

RogueAgent wrote:

Mine is clearly and without a doubt David Hedison. I met him at a comic con a few years back...damn he's taller than I originally thought. What a nice guy and a gentleman. Even autographed a photo for me of him and Dalton on it. I have yet to frame this baby.

He told me how they filmed the "shark scene" in LTK.


Jeffrey Wright's an amazing actor and he could grow on me if he makes more appearances and is given more lines in what I like to call the "Ultimate Bond" universe.

wow! that's so cool about DH. I bet he'd be fun to talk to...:)

~Pen -{

Tilly Masterson 007

Yup, the best Leiter for me was David Hedison.

I'm not too keen on Jeffrey Wright's portrayal of Leiter - he's not all that good.

darenhat

David Hedison gets my pick as the Best Leiter since I feel he captures the essence of what Leiter was in the novels - an upbeat and friendly, competent agent who hails from Texas.

While Jack Lord is just plain 'cool' - he didn't strike me as a very cheery Texan. The same can be said for Jeffrey Wright - who takes it even further from Fleming's creation by being a veritable sourpuss who seems somewhat impotent and incapable of getting anything done. Do we see Jeffrey Wright smile even once? That's definitely not the impression I got when reading Fleming.

Terry Jones in TLD physically was a good Leiter, but the delivery was extremely poor. I know that it's not Terry's fault since I have seen him bring in strong performances on TV since then.

7289

It was fun reading this thread again, it's been awhile since it was active.

I think QOS had the best part for Leiter of any previous Bond. He was actually involved in the plottings....amazing!

While Wright's FL is a bit on the cynical side, as opposed to the happy, clever Felix of the novels... he does present a belivable, world weary personality, suitable for todays CIA agent.

I fear promoting Leiter may serve to sidetrack him, he should be a field agent like Bond. I think it's wonderful that Wright is up for a third turn as Felix. Heck I'd like to see him return in ALL of Craig's Bond appearances. That would be great!

As a sidenote, I thought Leiter's boss was overplayed .... too much of the casual, amoral, ugly American there. It would have been better if they had made that fellow more of a professional. I did like him asking Felix if he valued his career.... that was a good line!

Hardyboy

darenhat wrote:

Terry Jones in TLD physically was a good Leiter, but the delivery was extremely poor. I know that it's not Terry's fault since I have seen him bring in strong performances on TV since then.

I wondered what Terry Jones has been up to since his Monty Python days! )

Anyway, to be the odd man out here, I think that Rik Van Nutter was physically the best Leiter--he pretty much looks exactly as Fleming described him (well, without the hook hand, of course)--and had there been more humor in his character he would have been perfect. So I guess he's my sentimental favorite.

DrMaybe

I have to go with Lord first, and then Hedison. But Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade(an ersatz Leiter) was the best part of the Brosnan era IMO. Love Baker in anything.

darenhat

Hardyboy wrote:

darenhat wrote:

Terry Jones in TLD physically was a good Leiter, but the delivery was extremely poor. I know that it's not Terry's fault since I have seen him bring in strong performances on TV since then.

I wondered what Terry Jones has been up to since his Monty Python days! )

Anyway, to be the odd man out here, I think that Rik Van Nutter was physically the best Leiter--he pretty much looks exactly as Fleming described him (well, without the hook hand, of course)--and had there been more humor in his character he would have been perfect. So I guess he's my sentimental favorite.

Did I get my wired crossed again? )

I meant to say 'John Terry"! (although if John Cleese can play Q, I don't see why other Pythons couldn't get into the act! Micheal Palin might make a good M!)

Trenchcoat

"A Genuine Felix Leiter."

A very subjective topic and one that is further informed by time. So here goes. . .

For me it's Jack Lord. His Felix Leiter had a definite "Kennedyesque" quality. This is not insignificant as DR. NO arrived during the "New Frontier" and was in itself a new frontier in film history. It should also be noted that the first two films took pains to show Bond arriving at his destination by Jet. Jet travel had just come into its own at the time and helped to define the "modern" appeal of the character. It's impossible to feel that same immediacy now, but it was very exotic at the time.

Cec Linder was warm and avuncular. Like a favorite uncle.

Rik Van Nutter left a very thin impression at the time. Looking back now he seems like a pale Eastwood clone with none of that actors charisma.

Norman Burton came off as buffonish, but then so did ther whole movie.

As for David Hedison. . . A fine actor but for us Yanks of the era he was too closely associated with his long running stint in TV'S "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea."

Bernie Casy. Okay, I guess. Not much to say either way.

Jeffery Wright. Maybe the best actor to inhabit the role, but it's a thankless part as in all of his film incarnations Felix's true mission is to handle some expository dialogue.

In my appraisal of the actors and the role I was not guided by the Leiter of the novels, who has some very distinct character traits, but rather by their cinematic impressions - such as they are.

Trenchcoat over and out

Napoleon Plural

George Segal would have made a great Leiter imo, and he ages well so could have been him throughout the 1960s and 70s. Good looking but in an unthreatening way.

But otherwise Jack Lord was maybe the only other one to be cool.

yodboy007

It seems that I agree with most posters on here when I say that David Hedison and Jack Lord are the best Felix Leiter actors.

Hedison has the upper-hand with me because he got to play him twice in my two of my favorite Bond films. It was great to see how well he worked with Moore and Dalton. He was in good shape for his age in LTK.

Lord played the coolest Leiter. I would even go as far to say that the way he says "Felix Leiter, Central Intelligence Agency" so fast and so smoothly is a better intro than Connery's "Bond, James Bond". I wish he had stuck around to become the definitive Leiter.

Hedison's Felix being in good spirits at the end of LTK was a good way to send the character of Felix off onto the sunset because the character had been around a while and it felt like a good time to retire him due to his injury. However, with our litte "reboot" as some of you like to see it we have Jeffrey Wright playing Felix and I think that he did much better in QOS than in CR simply because of screentime and I hope he sticks around for a while so the character has continuity for once!

DrMaybe

Trenchcoat wrote:

As for David Hedison. . . A fine actor but for us Yanks of the era he was too closely associated with his long running stint in TV'S "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea."

And his laughably classic line at the end of The Fly- "Help me! Help meeeeeeeeee!"

yodboy007 wrote:

Lord played the coolest Leiter. I would even go as far to say that the way he says "Felix Leiter, Central Intelligence Agency" so fast and so smoothly is a better intro than Connery's "Bond, James Bond". I wish he had stuck around to become the definitive Leiter.

Don't know why he didn't get asked back. He was doing Stoney Burke around the time of FRWL and GF, but the Leiter part really isn't that demanding. Not more than a 1 or 2 day location shoot. Maybe he was trying to up the salary, and Cubby didn't think the part important enough to keep continuity of actors. He also was fairly handsome(and cool) and maybe they didn't want him upstaging Connery(most Leiters of the 60's were middle aged and forgetable post-Lord).

youknowmyname

Certainly the man who defines cool - Jack Lord.

Van Nutter was good as well, but in second I would have to put Wright. I like the way he plays the part...although I hope he cheers up sometime soon, along with Bond.

Barry Nelson

I will go with David Hedison first and Rik Van Nutter second. Jack Lord was a little too stiff, which the Fleming character was not. Jeffrey Wright did nothing in CR and did very little in QoS, so I don't see him as a leading candidate.