20 Things You Somehow Missed In Never Say Never Again
14. The Brief Return Of Ernst Stavro Blofeld
The leader of SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld had dominated Sean Connery's official career as James Bond and, given that both Blofeld and SPECTRE originated in the novel of Thunderball, they are the villains in this film as well.
Blofeld had already been memorably portrayed by such distinguished actors as Donald Pleasence, Telly Savalas, and Charles Gray, but Connery convinced Max von Sydow, the star of numerous Ingmar Bergman films, The Exorcist and Flash Gordon, to play the role. His Blofeld is charming, but does not lose his understated menace.
The celebrated Swedish actor is also woefully underused, as many of his scenes were cut from the finished film, including his death courtesy of his cat's poison-tipped claws.
The inclusion of Blofeld's white Persian cat likely infuriated the official Bond filmmakers, as it was exclusive to the film series, having been created by screenwriter, Richard Maibaum for Blofeld's first onscreen appearance in 1963's From Russia With Love.