Desmond Llewelyn Interview (May 19, 1983)

Discussed: Octopussy and most other James Bond films, Llewellyn is promoting OCTOPUSSY. The entire program is devoted to all questions Bond and "Q" related. Llewellyn goes into detail about his characterization of Q.

Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn (Welsh: [ɬɛˈwɛlɪn]; 12 September 1914[1] – 19 December 1999[2]) was a Welsh actor. He was best known for his role as Q in 17 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1999.[3][4]

Llewelyn was born on 12 September 1914 in Newport, Monmouthshire, the son of Mia (née Wilkinson) and Ivor Llewelyn.[5] In 1921, Ivor purchased the very first Bentley production automobile, a Bentley 3-litre from W. O. Bentley.[6] His father was a coal mining engineer, while his son 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.

In his youth, Llewelyn played rugby for Newport RFC and can be seen wearing the club tie in The Living Daylights as well as that of Malpas Cricket Club in Octopussy.[7]

Second World War[edit source]
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 in Oflag VII-C and the infamous Colditz Castle in Germany.

Acting career[edit source]
James Bond series[edit source]
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 in 17 films, more than any other actor in the series.


Llewelyn in 1992
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."[8]

In the follow-up 2002 film Die Another Day, John Cleese's character is now the head of Q branch, having inherited the title of quartermaster from his predecessor.

In 1967, Llewelyn also portrayed Q 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.