Desmond Llewelyn

War service

Llewelyn's nascent acting career was paused by the outbreak of war in 1939, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. In 1940, his unit was engaged in fighting an entire Panzer division for several days near the French city of Lille, but they were overrun in attempting to retreat to Dunkirk, and Llewelyn was captured. He spent the remainder of the war in prisoner of war camps, first at Laufen, before he was transferred to Colditz Castle (Oflag IV-C) following his attempted escape from Laufen by tunnelling out. Llewelyn remained imprisoned at Colditz until it was liberated by Allied forces in 1945.^[5]

James Bond series

In 1963, Terence Young asked Llewelyn to read for the part of Quartermaster Major Boothroyd in From Russia with Love, the second release in the official Bond film series. Both Young and Ian Fleming wanted 'Q' to be portrayed as a Welshman with a strong Welsh accent, and Young had Llewelyn use a broad South Wales accent in They Were Not Divided.^[5] Llewelyn fought against the idea suggesting that such a character would never have been allowed to rise to the rank of Major in the British service. Llewelyn persuaded them that the character should have an upper-class English accent, with Llewelyn later stating that he played him as a "toffee nosed Englishman ever since".^[7]

Llewelyn would go on to become a staple of the film series for over thirty years, appearing in all but two EON-produced Bond films during his lifetime (the exceptions being 1962’s Dr. No and 1973's Live and Let Die). In total, Llewelyn played 'Q' in seventeen films, appearing in more Bond films than any other actor and playing opposite each of the first five Bond actors: Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

In 1967, Llewelyn portrayed 'Q' alongside Lois Maxwell's Miss Moneypenny in an EON-produced television documentary entitled Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond. This promotional film was included in the 2006 Special Edition DVD release of You Only Live Twice.

His last appearance as 'Q' before 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".^[8]

The part of 'Q' would make Llewelyn immensely popular among Bond fans and one of British cinema's most recognisable character actors. As such, Llewelyn would front a number of Bond related commercials, including two promotions for the video games GoldenEye 007 and Tomorrow Never Dies.

Other roles

Llewellyn continued to act in other roles throughout his tenure as 'Q', notably appearing the 1963 film Cleopatra (as a Roman senator), and the 1981 PBS production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and he had a small role in the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), which was itself based on a children's book by Bond author Ian Fleming. Llewelyn would also appear as Geoffrey Maddocks ('The Colonel') in the British television series Follyfoot from 1971 to 1973, and the BBC Wales production The Life and Times of David Lloyd George with Philip Madoc.

The Bond film Live and Let Die was filmed during the third series of Follyfoot, and Llewelyn was written out of the series for three episodes so he could appear in the film. However, the Bond producers ultimately decided to leave the character out of the film anyway, much to Llewelyn's annoyance.^[9]

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1995 when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at London's Hyde Park Hotel, during a press launch for the new Bond film, GoldenEye.^[5]

Death

On 19 December 1999, Llewelyn was driving alone from a book signing event when his Renault Mégane collided head-on with a Fiat Bravo on the A27 near the village of Berwick, East Sussex. Llewelyn sustained massive internal injuries and was airlifted by helicopter to Eastbourne District General Hospital, where he died soon afterward at the age of 85. The driver of the Fiat, a 35-year-old man, was seriously injured but survived; a woman in her thirties was also in the Fiat and suffered minor injuries.^[10] An inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.^[11]

Llewelyn's death occurred three weeks after the premiere of The World Is Not Enough. Roger Moore, who starred with Llewelyn in six of his seven Bond films, spoke at his funeral on 6 January 2000^[12] at St Mary the Virgin Church in Battle, Sussex.^[13] The service was followed by a private cremation at Hastings Crematorium, with Llewelyn's ashes given to his family.^[13]

His widow, Pamela Mary Llewelyn, died in East Sussex in 2001, aged 88. His son, Justin Llewelyn, died in 2012, aged 59.^[14]

Legacy

In March 2026, Desmond Crescent and Llewelyn Road, two roads in Swindon, Wiltshire were named after Llewelyn, in reference to a nearby filming location for The World Is Not Enough.^[15][16]

Film

Television