20 Things You Didn’t Know About Casino Royale (2006)

19. You’re Not Miss Moneypenny!

Casino Royale Daniel Craig
MGM/Columbia Pictures

In keeping with Ian Fleming’s novel, Miss Moneypenny and Major Boothroyd (better known as Q) do not appear in Casino Royale.

Instead, M is assisted by Villiers, played by Tobias Menzies, who functions as her secretary and protégé of sorts. For example, he informs M that James Bond is the best poker player in the British Secret Service, leading Double-0 Seven to be assigned the mission of bankrupting Le Chiffre and forcing his defection, even though Bond is already personally involved in the operation.

Villiers was named in honour of automotive engineer, Amherst Villiers (1900-1991) who created the 4.5 litre “Blower Bentley”, which was driven by Double-0 Seven in Ian Fleming’s original novels (Fleming’s Bond nicknamed the car “The Locomotive”).

By curious coincidence, actor James Villiers had portrayed M’s Chief of Staff, Bill Tanner in For Your Eyes Only (1981), whilst Tobias Menzies later portrayed Fleming himself in the British drama, Any Human Heart (2010).

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