Villiers (Tobias Menzies)

 

Datastream
Character: Villiers
Movie: Casino Royale
Status: Retired
Actor: Tobias Menzies
Date of Birth: 7/3/1974
Place of Birth: England

Profile
Villiers is M's personal aide on the Le Chiffre case. He accompanies the MI6 chief everywhere, from her cabinet meetings at the Houses of Parliament to her briefing of 007 on location in the Bahamas.

As well as answering the phones and keeping his bosses schedule, Villiers is responsible for keeping tabs on the newly appointed Double-0: James Bond.

Villiers puts two and two together when Bond reports from Miami that the launch of the SkyFleet prototype is the terrorist networks next target (with help from Google).

A bright and well-educated young man, Villiers was newly recruited by M herself just prior to the "Casino Royale" events.

Appearences
A year after "Casino Royale" opened in theatres, Menzies confirmed via his official blog that the character would not be returning. "Sad news for all Villiers fans, he is no more! Casino Royale was his first and last stand. May he rest in peace."

Memorable Quotes
Villiers: He's in the Bahamas!
M: You woke me to share his holiday plans?

Villiers: He's logged into our Secure Website, using your name and password.
M: [annoyed] How the hell does he know these things?

Villiers: Bond's been poisoned, he's gone into Cardiac arrest.

Biography
A talented British-born actor, Tobias Menzies entered the acting trade as guest stars on several popular TV productions in the UK, including "Midsomer Murders". Before long, Menzies landed a regular spot on the medical drama "Casualty", where he portrayed the character Frank Gallagher.

Menzies came to the forefront of public attention when he was cast as Brutus in the HBO/BBC joint production "Rome" and since 2000 he has worked on a series of impressive stage productions, most notably 2005's "Hamlet" at the Royal Theatre, Northampton.

More recently, Menzies appeared in the 2004 Marc Forster / Johnny Depp feature "Finding Neverland", the award winning "Atonement" and in 2009 will provide the voice of Captain English in the spoof "Jackboots on Whitehall". The film boasts an all-star cast including two Bond cast members, Alan Cummings and Rosamund Pike.