18 Great Actors Totally Wasted In James Bond Movies
13. Jeffrey Wright
Played: Felix Leiter in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and No Time to Die.
Felix Leiter, the CIA agent who is Bond's best friend has appeared in many James Bond movies and has been played by more actors then Bond himself. In the Craig era, Leiter was played by the wonderful Jeffrey Wright, who nearly always improves any movie or TV series he's in. For example, his recent performance in HBO's Westworld was absolutely stunning.
Let's be honest: aside from in Licence to Kill, Leiter has never been very compelling in the films but Wright was good as him and arguably the best Felix Leiter to date. Therefore, it's a damn shame he was so under-utilized.
He got a good part in Casino Royale but was given a nothing role in Quantum of Solace (in fairness, he was meant to be in it more but the troubled production meant that his role was drastically reduced) and was then conspicuously absent in both Skyfall and Spectre.
Thankfully, he got a good role - and death scene - in the recent No Time to Die but the way in which he was so poorly served was incredibly jarring to say the least. At one point in No Time, Bond refers to Leiter as being like a brother to him, but this line didn't land at all given how little of Leiter has been seen in the recent films.