Desmond Llewelyn
| Desmond Llewelyn | |
|---|---|
Desmond Llewelyn as 'Q' in Sweden while promoting Octopussy, June 1983
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| Born |
Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn 12 September 1914 Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK |
| Died | 19 December 1999 (aged 85) Firle, East Sussex, England, UK |
| Cause of death | Car accident |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950–1999 |
| Spouse(s) | Pamela Mary Pantlin (1938–1999; his death) |
| Children | Justin Llewelyn, Ivor Llewelyn |
Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (12 September 1914 – 19 December 1999) was a Welsh actor, best known for his role as Q in 17 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1999.
Llewelyn was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, the son of Mia (née Wilkinson) and Ivor Llewelyn, who was a coal mining engineer. He originally wanted to be a minister, but during his education at Radley College, he worked as a stagehand in the school's productions and occasionally picked up small roles.
The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 halted his acting career; Llewelyn was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army, serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers. In 1940, he was captured by the German Army in France and was held as a prisoner of war for five years.
Llewelyn was chosen for the role of Q because of his work with director Terence Young in the 1950 war film They Were Not Divided, in which he played a tank gunner. Beginning with From Russia with Love in 1963, Llewelyn appeared as Q, the quartermaster of the MI6 gadget lab (also known as Q branch), in every EON Bond film until his death, with the exception of Live and Let Die in 1973, in which the character Q did not appear. Llewelyn was the only actor in the original Bond series to have worked alongside five of the actors who played the spy, who were Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
His last appearance as Q prior to his death was in The World Is Not Enough in 1999. During his briefing of 007 in the film, Q introduces John Cleese's character, R, as his heir presumptive, and the film alludes to Q's retirement to which Bond, after seeing Q, expresses his hope that it will not be any time soon. Q's response is to admonish Bond to "always have an escape plan", after which he lowers himself through the floor of his lab. Llewelyn had stated not long before his death that he had no plans to retire and that he would continue playing Q "as long as the producers want me and the Almighty doesn't."
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