The Definitive Ranking Of Every Bond Villain

Charles Gray was perfectly cast as James Bond's rakish ally Henderson in You Only Live Twice, and totally miscast 4 years later as the new Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever. Swapping menace for camp, he's a dud of a villain in a mostly charmless movie.

Pierce Brosnan's unworthy swansong has plenty of flaws – the invisible car, that windsurfing scene, but its limp antagonist, a Korean colonel (Rick Yune) who altered his DNA to pose as a British business tycoon – should be singled out as one of the film's biggest failings.

It's not Mathieu Amalric's fault, but Greene is sorely underwritten and ends up a tedious foe for Bond in Daniel Craig's muddled second outing.

An international arms dealer obsessed with military history? Sounds like vintage Bond villain material. But Joe Don Baker was miscast as the ruthless Whitaker – he fit his later role of Jack Wade, jovial CIA ally to Pierce Brosnan's 007, far better.

The Bond series tried to be (semi-)topical by skewering tabloid media, but Jonathan Pryce failed to convey much menace as media tycoon Carver – and let's not even talk about his embarrassing 'kung-fu' display.

Like the film in which he appears, Aris Kristatos (played by Julian Glover) is perfectly serviceable but not especially memorable. It's Topol who ends up stealing the show as Kristatos's long-time foe, the charismatic smuggler Milos Columbo.

Steven Berkoff is dependably madcap as the disgraced Soviet general (yes, another one), but Orlov's limited screentime means he can't be considered one of the all-time great Bond villains. Plus, he doesn't even get executed by Bond – German border guards finish him off.

One of the most divisive characters in the Bond canon. Yes, Nick-Nack is involved in the most embarrassing climax to any Bond film – Roger Moore scuffling with Hervé Villechaize before locking his opponent in a suitcase – but Villechaize himself brings an appealing, mischievous charm to one of the strangest villains to ever grace a 007 movie.

Christoph Waltz was terrifying in his breakthrough role in Inglourious Basterds, but his revamped Blofeld in Spectre was neutered by a naff backstory that made him Bond's resentful step-brother. From the world's most feared terrorist to sulky sibling.

Again, his impact is limited by a lack of screentime. (Bond writers? Two villains never works.) But Robert Carlyle's soulful performance and a classic Bond villain gimmick – a bullet in the brain that inhibits Renard's ability to feel pain – help add some colour to a rather insubstantial character.

Louis Jourdan is suitably suave but his villain in Octopussy – a 007 movie that's a lot better than you remember – is solid rather than spectacular. Has some great one-liners ("You have a nasty habit... of surviving.") though.

It's Roger Moore's best, but while he's got a brilliantly bonkers evil scheme to destroy Earth society and rebuild a new civilization beneath the ocean, Curd Jürgens is mostly relegated to giving death stares and pushing buttons inside his underwater HQ. True infamy slips through his webbed fingers.

Baron Samedi doesn't actually do that much – actor Geoffrey Holder only appears in a handful of scenes in Live and Let Die and the voodoo villain is mostly inconsequential to the plot. But his striking look, paranormal powers and that laugh mean he ranks far higher than similar third-tier Bond foes.

Famke Janssen is clearly having an absolute ball playing an assassin with *ahem* the world's most powerful thighs and her enthusiasm is infectious. Onatopp is a riot, even if the pun is appalling.

Perhaps the most complex Bond baddie of them all, Mr. White gets a three-movie arc, transforming from Le Chiffe's henchman in Casino Royale to an anti-hero ally to Bond in Spectre, where he meets his end. A fantastic character, though too sympathetic to be a truly great Bond villain.

Roger Moore's debut is exceptionally strong on the bad-guy front, with Tee Hee one of the franchise's most memorable henchmen. His sharp style and mechanical pincer arm are all points in his favour, but it's a charismatic performance from the late Julius Harris that really makes the character stand out.

In an unusual brutal outing, Sanchez is a Bond villain free of gimmicks, but Robert Davi's intense antagonist is the perfect match for Timothy Dalton's more sober Bond – one of the few Bond villains to be genuinely, properly scary.

In a film where most of the 'comedy' misfires, Bruce Glover and Putter Smith are a blackly comic delight as the endearingly unusual hitmen Wint and Kidd, with Smith – a jazz musician by trade – particularly memorable due to his innocent, hangdog appearance. The homophobic undertones are from another age, of course. Fun fact: Bruce Glover is Crispin "George McFly" Glover's dad.