The Spy Who Loved Me / Characters

Main Character Index

Character sheet for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

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MI6

KGB

Anya Amasova

Major Anya Amasova / Agent Triple X

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Barbara_Bach_254.jpg

"I have never failed on a mission, Commander. Any mission."

Played by: Barbara Bach

An elite KGB agent sent to team up with Bond against Stromberg. She is the lover of an agent Bond killed in the opening sequence and vows to take revenge on Bond.

Alliterative Name Anya Amasova. Same goes for her actress, Barbara Bach.
Clingy Jealous Girl: She shoots Bond a few Death Glares when he flirts with Naomi right in front of her.
Damsel in Distress: In the climax, she's captured by Stromberg and it's up to Bond to rescue her.
Distaff Counterpart: A female alter-ego to 007; to the point where she's introduced to the audience in a manner identical to the way Bond is—canoodling with her lover. The first of that kind in the series.
Easily Forgiven: Well not quite easy, but she does end up sleeping with Bond despite the fact he killed her lover.
Enemy Mine: The entire plot of the movie from her perspective.
Girl of the Week: The main Bond Girl of this film.
Go-Go Enslavement: In the climax, while being held captive by Stromberg, he has her dressed in a revealing outfit and tied up in his study to caress her.
Ms. Fanservice: She even has a Shower Scene in the U.S. submarine. Unfortunately, Stromberg took notice, and when she was captured, he took her to the Atlantis and had her dressed in a revealing outfit and tied up in his study to caress her.
Revenge: In the opening scene, Bond kills Anya's lover, a KGB agent who is trying to kill him at the time. When she finds out about it, she vows to kill Bond.
Sensual Slavs: As is a staple of the Bond movies for a Russian woman. Incidentally, this movie almost single-handedly changed Americans' views of Russian women. Before it came out, all Russian women were assumed by Americans to be outright Gonks, to the point that American comedians (and especially the hugely influential Johnny Carson) could count on getting cheap and easy laughs by poking fun at the purported hideousness of Russian women. Carson admitted during a visit by Roger Moore that the movie had ruined "half his jokes". (Evidently viewers by this time didn't remember Tatiana Romanova in From Russia with Love.)
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Amasova starts the movie having lots of arguments and fights with Bond, only to start liking liking him halfway through. And almost threw it away when she found out Bond killed her previous lover.
When Harry Met Svetlana: Soviet Anya Amasova teams up with the British James Bond and, despite the fact that he killed her lover (in self defense), she naturally falls in love with him by the end of the movie.
Women Drivers: She's hilariously inept behind the wheel of a manual transmission truck, which makes escape from Jaws difficult. Apparently, this was down to Barbara Bach herself being unable to operate the gears properly. The quips made by Roger Moore were all unscripted.

General Gogol

Sergei Barsov

Played by: Michael Billington

Anya Amasova's lover. A KGB agent who ends up dead while trying to kill Bond in Austria in the pre-credits sequence.

In the Back: Tries to shoot Bond in the back during the ski chase.
The Lost Lenore: To Anya Amasova.
Punch-Clock Villain: Tries to kill Bond, but comes across as an agent just doing his job. Bond doesn't seem to hold any ill feelings towards him.
Bond: It was him or me.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Is killed by Bond during his failed attempt on the British agent's life just minutes into the film, thus setting up the eventual enmity between Bond and Anya when the latter discovers Bond's part in his death.

Log Cabin Girl

"But James, I need you!"

Played by: Sue Vanner

A woman seen in the pre-credits sequence, she has spent some intimate time with Bond in Berngarten, Austria. She is actually a KGB mole, and she warns Sergei Barsov and his squad when Bond is leaving the log cabin so they can ambush and kill him.

Adaptation Expansion: Christopher Wood's novelization of the film greatly expands on the character (although it changes several key aspects of the scene, such as having SMERSH be behind the ambush instead of the KGB), where she was given the name Martine Blanchaud and is stated that SMERSH executed her for her failure in the plot, and burned her body and those of the killed agents in the log cabin she was with Bond.
Fanservice Extra: She spends her entire appereance wearing a white mink coat and nothing underneath, and she's never brought up again after the pre-credits sequence.
Honey Trap: She seems to have been ordered to seduce Bond so that it would be possible for the KGB to assassinate him.
Ms. Fanservice: She spends her entire appereance wearing a white mink coat.
Naked in Mink: After she and Bond make love, she wraps herself with the white mink coat over which she and Bond laid.
No Name Given: Her name is never mentioned. She's just credited as "Log Cabin Girl". The film's novelization names her Martine Blanchaud.
The Vamp: She seduces Bond into a trap by the KGB.
What Happened to the Mouse?: She isn't seen again after she alerts Barsov and his squad that Bond is leaving the log cabin. In the film's novelization (in which SMERSH is behind the ambush on Bond instead of the KGB), it is stated that SMERSH executed her for her failure, and burned her body and those of the killed agents in the log cabin.

Bond's Allies

Commander Carter

Played by: Shane Rimmer ^{Other Languages} Dominique Paturel (European French)

The commanding officer of the United States submarine Wayne, tasked with assisting Bond in stopping Stromberg.

Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite some misgivings, he lets Bond rescue Anya before destroying Atlantis.
Supporting Leader: Leads the American submarine crew in the battle onboard the Liparus.

Commander Talbot

Played by: Bryan Marshall

Commanding officer of the British submarine Ranger.

Sacrificial Lion: Dies leading an assault against the Liparus' control room.
Supporting Leader: Leads the British submarine crew in the battle onboard the Liparus.

Sheikh Hosein

Played by: Edward de Souza

An Englishman living in Egypt who sets Bond up with Fekkesh.

Small Role, Big Impact: Fills Bond in on Kalba's organization and arranges a meeting for him with Aziz Fekkesh.

The Young Ranger Officer

The Young Ranger Officer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/young_ranger_officer.jpg

Played by: Kim Fortune

A young lieutenant serving as theRanger's navigation officer.

No Name Given: Is simply credited as "Young Ranger Officer."
Leeroy Jenkins: Follows bravely (and one might say stupidly) in his late commanding officer's footsteps.
Too Dumb to Live: Dies getting cut down by machine gun fire attempting to take the Liparus' control room.
You Are in Command Now: After Talbot dies, he becomes the new leader of the Ranger crew simply by dint of being the senior most surviving officer. It doesn't last long.

Admiral Hargreaves

See here.

Stromberg Shipping

Karl Stromberg

Karl Sigmund Stromberg

"For me, this is all the world. There is beauty... there is ugliness... and there is death."

Played by: Curd Jürgens

A billionaire shipping magnate who intends to exterminate mankind by triggering global thermonuclear war between the East and West so that he can restart human civilization in the ocean.

Adaptation Name Change: In the Novelization, he's named Sigmund Stromberg.
AM/FM Characterization: He plays Classical Music in Atlantis, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Animal Motifs: He is associated with marine life. His business symbol is a fish, he lives in an underwater base complete with a shark tank, and has a visitor's room with multiple aquariums.
The Anticipator: When Bond goes to Atlantis to rescue Anya Amasova before Atlantis is blown up, Stromberg notices Bond's entrance, and tells Bond, "Good evening, Mr. Bond. I've been expecting you."
Apocalypse How: His plan to start a global thermonuclear war is a Class 2 (Civilization Extinction).
Bad Boss:
- He executes Markovitz and Bechmann, who assisted him in decrypting the data that allowed him to capture the submarines, and immediately canceled his promised payment to them both. Then again, it was to make sure they didn't talk.
- He inflicts the same fate upon his secretary, who did leak information about his scheme to his enemies and takes pleasure in seeing her suffer for it.
Big Bad: The main antagonist of the film.
Big Eater: He often meets visitors and acquaintances over his dining table, which usually is piled high with seafood and vegetables.
Body Motifs: He has webbed hands, befitting his love the ocean and marine life.
Bring Him to Me: A variation - after capturing Major Amasova, he takes her to his headquarters, "Atlantis" to gloat over her and stick her in a skimpy outfit. Bond later follows and saves her.
Captain Ersatz: He fills in for Ernst Stavro Blofeld, whom the producers couldn't use because of copyright reasons. He shares his love of the trademark Blofeld Ploy, of Animal Motifs involving deadly fish, and of large intricate bases — not to mention his plan is glaringly similar to one of Blofeld's plans.
Captain Nemo Copy: He is remarkably similar to Nemo, a man with such love of the sea and contempt to the western world that he would want it completely annihilated so he would live in peace under the sea. The main difference is that while Nemo is very likeable and redeems himself in the sequel, Stromberg is not.
Collapsing Lair: After it's been hit by a torpedo.
Cool Boat: He owns a tanker that "eats" up submarines and a truly spectacular underwater base.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's a successful businessman as head of his own shipping firm, which is noted to be one of the world's richest shipping companies. He uses its resources for his Evil Plan.
Diabolical Mastermind: Having a plan that involves stealing nuclear submarines and operating from an underwater base is as good a sign as any.
Did You Actually Believe...?: He sneers at Bond when the latter thinks the former is trying start a War for Fun and Profit.
Dirty Old Man: His interactions with Anya when she is his prisoner indicate that he is this.
Establishing Character Moment: Stromberg is introduced by dropping his secretary into a Shark Pool and watching her be eaten while playing Bach over it after she tried to sell his microfilm plans to the world powers.
Evil Plan: He wants to start World War III by hijacking nuclear submarines and launching them at New York and Moscow respectively, as in You Only Live Twice framing both countries a perpetrators of the others' plan. He will then build and rule an underwater city as a paradise for the survivors to rebuild civilization. Yes, he is insane.
Evil Sounds Deep: A Misanthrope Supreme with a deep booming voice, most prominently on display in the scene where he drops his traitorous secretary into the Shark Pool.
Expy: It's been stated some drafts had him be Blofeld. EON Productions had lost the rights for the character of Blofeld and SPECTRE by that time. They created one-shot megalomaniac villains like him instead.
Face Death with Dignity: When Bond tells him that his time is running out thanks to the submarine being ordered to destroy Atlantis, Stromberg simply says "Yours too", then tries to shoot him under the table.
Faux Affably Evil: He acts polite and refined, but at heart he's a cold-blooded psychopath who is willing to cross any moral boundary in his pursuit of his utopian vision.
Generic Doomsday Villain: Averted. His plan is utterly insane but internally consistent.
Groin Attack: Is on the receiving end of a particularly brutal one by Bond before he is killed by him, taking not one, but two gunshots to the crotch for his troubles.
Handshake Refusal: He's germophobic and won't shake hands. When Bond, who is told this, holds out his hand to Stromberg anyway, Stromberg predictably rebuffs Bond.
Hoist by His Own Petard: He tries to shoot Bond with a harpoon gun under his dining table. After dodging, Bond shoots back through the pipeline.
I Have You Now, My Pretty: After he has taken Anya to Atlantis (his headquarters), he has her dressed in a revealing outfit and tied up in his study to caress her.
Knight Templar: Cements himself as one when Bond and Anya tell him that he's committing genocide in order to create his underwater utopia. He's so convinced that he's doing humanity a favour, he states that he "is willing to accept the judgment of posterity".
Man of Wealth and Taste: He appreciates art, seafood dishes, and classical music, and his main base is Scenery Porn defined.
Misanthrope Supreme: His meeting with Bond (who at the time was posing as a marine biologist) certainly drives the point that he has left humanity behind. And then there's the whole desire for the destruction of the entire human race and then restart it in the ocean. Bond is even told before meeting Stromberg that he's germophobic and won't shake hands (though this may also because he has webbed hands). Bond holds out his hand to Stromberg anyway and is predictably rebuffed.
Bond: Don't you miss the outside world?
Stromberg: For me, this is all the world. [shows Bond his aquarium] There is beauty, there is ugliness, and there is death.
Multiple Gunshot Death: Shot four times by Bond; two bullets in the groin and two in the chest.
New Era Speech: He gives one to Bond:
Stromberg: I intend to change the face of history.
Anya: By destroying the world?
Stromberg: By creating a world. A new and beautiful world beneath the sea. Today civilisation as we know it is corrupt and decadent. Inevitably, it will destroy itself. I'm merely accelerating the process. I will accept the judgment of posterity.
No Kill like Overkill: Bond shoots him way more times than is really necessary.
No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine: Subverted. He invites Bond to join him for dinner so that Bond will be sitting right in the sights of the gun attached to the underside of the table. Bond figures it out, gets clear in time and returns the favour down the firing tube.
Non-Action Big Bad: Noticeably less active than many of the usual Bond villains. When he finally tries to stop Bond himself, it goes badly.
Omnicidal Maniac: His plan to build his underwater utopia involves annihilating civilization on the surface using the stolen submarines to nuke New York and Moscow, thus triggering a global nuclear war.
Playing Both Sides: His plan is launching nuclear missiles from British and Soviet submarines to destroy Moscow and New York City, respectively. This would make each country believe the other attacked them and trigger a global nuclear war (which Stromberg would survive in Atlantis), and subsequently a new civilisation would be established.
Red Right Hand: He has webbed fingers.◊ Though unusually, this is never explicitly pointed out and there are only a couple shots where they're obvious.
Restart the World: He plans to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. by launching a nuclear missile against each nation simultaneously. His justification?
Today civilization as we know it is corrupt and decadent. Inevitably, it will destroy itself. I'm merely accelerating the process. I intend to change the face of history [snip] by creating a world. A new and beautiful world beneath the sea.
Rich Recluse's Realm: Has used his fortune to create a floating palace off the coast of Sardinia; called Atlantis, it provides him with so much luxury that he rarely feels the need to leave it at all except to oversee operations on his flagship tanker. For good measure, the place can actually be submerged, making it the centerpiece of the Underwater City that Stromberg hopes to build once his apocalyptic plan is complete.
Shark Pool: He has a shark pit in his lair with push-button Trap Door access.
Shoot the Builder: He has Professor Markovitz and Dr. Bechmann murdered after they create the submarine tracking system for him.
The Sociopath: He clearly doesn't care for humanity anymore, thinking it should be destroyed and then restarted in the ocean.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: He never raises his voice. Not that he needs to do that to still come off as creepy, as his Dirty Old Man attitude towards Anya Amasova shows.
Supervillain Lair: The Atlantis, one of the most iconic in the franchise.
This Is What the Building Will Look Like: In his study, he shows Bond a model of an underwater city with Atlantis as its main structure.
Undignified Death: On top of having his balls blown out by Bond, he ends up collapsing face-first into a plate of oysters and greens before eventually expiring of multiple gunshot wounds.
Utopia Justifies the Means: His plan is to trigger World War III and destroy the world, then create a new civilisation under the sea.
Villain with Good Publicity: When the clues Bond and Amasova discover point towards him, of course there's doubt that the respected businessman is actually behind it.
War for Fun and Profit: Subverted. He actually sneers at Bond for asking how much he wants to not destroy the world.
Wicked Cultured: Has paintings in his lair and listens to classical music.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Kills the doctor and the professor who made the tracking device by blowing up their helicopter.

Jaws

Sandor

Played by: Milton Reid

Another henchman working for Stromberg. He tries to kill Bond separately from Jaws but is soon dispatched.

Bald of Evil: He doesn't have a single hair in his head. This is something that he carried from his book counterpart, Sluggsy, who is said to suffer from alopecia, to the point that Sluggsy didn't even have nostril hair.
The Brute: Shares this position with Jaws.
Disney Villain Death: Ends up holding on Bond's tie on the edge of a rooftop in Cairo. Bond interrogates him and then slaps the tie out of Sandor's hands, causing Sandor to plummet to his death.
Bond: Where is Fekkesh?
Sandor: PYRAMIDS! [Bond removes his tie] AAAAAAHHHH! [hits the ground]
Bond: What a helpful chap.
Fat Bastard: A portly man who's a henchman for the main villain.
Only One Name: He's only called "Sandor".
The Quiet One: Sandor only has two lines, first a "Yes sir" when introduced and answering Bond's question during his High-Altitude Interrogation, after which Bond kills him.
Stout Strength: He certainly gives what's probably the toughest hand-to-hand fight that Roger Moore's Bond ever had.
We Hardly Knew Ye: He's killed after his first ambush against Bond. Contrast it with Jaws, who survived multiple encounters and managed to appear in the next movie.

Naomi

Played by: Caroline Munro

Karl Stromberg's personal helicopter pilot and assistant.

Affably Evil: She is amicable to the visitors of Atlantis, and even when tasking with eliminating Bond and Amasova with her helicopter, she does so while giving a friendly / flirty wink and smile to Bond. Bond is both flattened and confused by this.
Animal Motifs: Her boots have dolphins on them, in keeping with the ocean theme.
Cool Shades: She has a pair of very '70s ones.
Dark Action Girl: It's revealed to be one after she shoots Bond and Amasova from her helicopter. Until then, she just seemed to be a Punch-Clock Villain by being Stromberg's personal assistant.
Ms. Fanservice: Ooh yes. It's Caroline Munro spending all but one of her scenes in a bikini with only a (opened) robe covering her.
Bond: What a handsome craft. Such lovely lines.
Only One Name: She's only called "Naomi".
Sexy Secretary: She's Stromberg's personal assistant, who spends all but one of her scenes in a bikini with only a (opened) robe covering her.
Walking Swimsuit Scene: After her first scene (escorting Professor Beckman and Dr. Markovitz in the Atlantis to see Stromberg), all of her scenes are this, with her in the bikini/robe combo pictured.
We Hardly Knew Ye: She has relatively little screen time before her death. Crosses into Dropped a Bridge on Her, given that her flirtation with Bond could easily led the audience to believe that she could become a Girl of the Week.

The Liparus Captain

The Liparus Captain

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/liparus_captain.jpg

Played by: Sydney Tafler

The captain of Stromberg's newest supertanker, which the villain uses to capture submarines.

Defiant to the End: Even as he lies dying, he refuses to tell Bond how to stop Stromberg's plan.
Evil Gloating: A little understated, but his dying words are basically telling Bond there's nothing he can do to avert nuclear Armageddon.
No Name Given: He's simply referred to as "Captain" in dialogue and the film credits.
Small Role, Big Impact: No name and very little screentime, but he pretty much creates the single biggest obstacle Bond and co. have in thwarting Stromberg's plans.
Undying Loyalty: Chooses to die trying to implement Stromberg's plan even though he had many chances to surrender to Bond and the submariners and survive.
You Shall Not Pass!: A "The Siege" variant. After Bond and the captured submariners take over the Liparus, the captain seals himself in the control room behind armoured shutters to prevent them from interfering with the impending missile launch.

Other Characters

Max Kalba

Played by: Vernon Dobtcheff

An Egyptian criminal and smuggler who Stromberg's assistant sold the microfilm to.

Man Bites Man: Gets bitten in the throat by Jaws.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies in his very first scene.

Aziz Fekkesh

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fekkesh.jpg

Played by: Nadim Sawalha

One of Kalba's middlemen.

Hope Spot: Chased by Jaws, he tries to save himself by locking a door behind him with some chains. Too bad Jaws eats chains for breakfast. Literally.
Man Bites Man: Gets bitten in the throat by Jaws just like his boss.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Like Kalba, he's in only one scene before he gets killed.

Professor Markovitz and Dr. Bechmann

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_bechmann.jpg

Played by: Milo Sperber (Markovitz) and Cyril Shaps (Bechmann)

The two scientists who designed Stromberg's submarine tracking system.

Everyone Has Standards: Despite being willing to work for Stromberg and presumably fully aware of his plans, they're visibly disturbed by his cold-blooded execution of his treacherous secretary.
Don't Celebrate Just Yet: Having managed to not get dropped into the shark tank, the two get in a helicopter and fly off, they thin, free and clear, and are seen laughing and congratulating one another - right before Stromberg blows the chopper up, killing them and their pilot.
Genre Savvy: Bechmann. After being dismissed, they go to leave, but when the elevator with the trapdoor leading to the shark tank opens, Bechmann hesitates and even grabs Markovitz's arm to prevent him from getting on. They hesitate, but finally decide they have no choice, as it's the only way (that they know of) to leave, so they reluctantly get in. Stromberg doesn't feed them to his sharks, though... he just blows them up in their helicopter later.
Small Role, Big Impact: They are the guys who designed the tracking system which drives the entire plot.
Spared by the Adaptation: They survive in the Novelization, where Stromberg allows them to depart without incident and doesn't blow their helicopter up.
Too Dumb to Live: Designed a vital component for an obvious supervillain and his plans, quite clearly knew too much, saw what he did to his own secretary, and still thought they were in the clear.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The main reason Stromberg kills them, as well as to ensure they keep their mouths shut. That and Shoot the Builder.

Stromberg's Assistant

Played by: Marilyn Galsworthy

The unnamed assistant/secretary to Karl Stromberg.

Dead-Hand Shot: A rather more dramatic example than usual. When James Bond meets with Stromberg while posing as marine biologist later in the film, he notices one of the assistant's dismembered, chewed-off hands at the bottom of a fish tank.
Expy: Given the film follows the plotline of You Only Live Twice and Stromberg is an expy from Blofeld as he is presented in that film, Stromberg's assistant is an expy to Helga Brandt from that film. They both are beautiful assistants to a villain (Stromberg for the assistant, Osato for Brandt), and they both fed to carnivious aquatic animals (the assistant was fed to a shark, Brandt was fed to pirahnas).
Fed to the Beast: Her punishment for betraying Stromberg is being fed to Stromberg's shark.
No Name Given: Her name isn't given in the film; she's only credited as "Stromberg's Assistant". The film's novelization gave her the name Kate Chapman.
The Voiceless: She has no lines in the film (although she does cry out for help in some versions).
You Have Failed Me: Stromberg has her fed to a shark after discovering that she sold a microfilm with the plans of the secret submarine tracking system that's part of his plot.

Characters / The Spy Who Loved Me

MI6

KGB