There are great Bond films without Blofeld as the villain, but new fans can't be introduced into the series without first watching the Bond-Blofeld rival play out in the 1960s and '70s then again during the Daniel Craig era. This gave the two men an even stronger connection. Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival, per Variety, the actor recalled his time making the 2006 film, which rebooted the James Bond story for modern audiences.

Then Blofeld is the primary antagonist in 'You Only Live Twice,' 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' and 'Diamonds Are Forever.' He returns to haunt 007 again in the 21st century, as he is behind the scenes in 'Casino Royale,' 'Quantum of Solace' and 'Skyfall,' but he comes to the forefront in 'Spectre' and returned in 'No Time to Die.' In 'Spectre,' Blofeld reveals that he and Bond grew up as stepbrothers after 007's parents died. Mads Mikkelsen said 'Casino Royale' director Martin Campbell told him and costar Daniel Craig to pull back when they tried to take the film's famous torture scene in a different direction.

He doesn't become the primary villain of the series until the fifth film, 'You Only Live Twice,' but he operates behind the scenes in three of the first four movies prior to that. And it made sense to change that for multiple reasons, chief among them the fact that no one has played baccarat on purpose since the 1800s.

The author of all your pain.'Īs great as Goldfinger is as a villain, it's hard to usurp Blofeld from the top spot.