Desmond Llewelyn Biography
(Actor)
Birthday: September 12, 1914 (Virgo)
Born In: Newport, Wales Newport, Wales
Desmond Llewelyn was a Welsh actor, best known for playing ‘James Bond's exasperated gadgets and weapons master, ‘Major Boothroyd,’ better known as ‘Q,’ in 17 ‘Bond’ films, between 1963 and 1999, beginning with ‘From Russia with Love.’ He tragically succumbed to a vehicular accident just 3 weeks after the premiere of ‘The World Is Not Enough,’ his last ‘Bond’ film. This lifetime role propelled him to a cult-favorite status among diehard fans of the ‘007’ franchise and made him immensely popular with cinephiles and average moviegoers alike, despite his rather short overall screen time. He was the only member of ‘EON’s official cast to have worked with all five actors who had played ‘James Bond’ until then, namely, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan, and three ‘M’s, namely, Bernard Lee, Robert Brown, and Dame Judi Dench. No other actor has appeared in more ‘007’ films than Llewelyn. Before his stint in ‘Bond’ films, he was a World War II veteran. He was also a successful character actor, a career which lasted 50 years and saw him appear in films such as the ‘Academy Award’-winning classic ‘Cleopatra’ and the ‘Academy Award’--nominated adventure–fantasy ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.’