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Sir Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens)
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Datastream
Actor: Toby Stephens
Character: Sir Gustav Graves
Movie: Die Another Day
Date of Birth: 21 April 1969
Height: 5' 11" (1.80m)
Distinguishing Feature:
Appearance: Medium height and fit build with high cheek
bones, well kept dark brown hair and a wiry grin
Status: Terminated
Organisations & Alliances: Graves Diamonds, Zao, Mr. Kil, Miranda Frost, General Moon
Profile
The rich, Sir Richard Branson-esque businessman, has a
backstory of being an orphan brought up in the diamond
mines
of Argentina. Graves
made his millions from an unexpected and highly improbable
diamond mine in the wastelands of Iceland.
With an arrogant and twisted view on
life, Graves successfully carries off a persona of a
charitable and heroic public figure willing to donate
millions to a new solar energy source dubbed Icarus.
Underneath the facade, the multi-million
dollar tycoon is planning to use Icarus as a weapon against
the Western
superpowers. |
"You can't kill my dreams. But my
dreams can kill you."
Scheme
Colonel Moon of the North Korean
army is presumed dead after a run in with 007,
but in reality the scheming and twisted Colonel checks into a gene
clinic to be transformed into the arrogant yet affluent Gustav
Graves. With connections to an illegal diamond smuggling route
from Africa, Graves constructs a diamond-powered
laser satellite with the capacity to heat or slice and dice the
surface of the earth. The manic Graves is determined to do his
former country
proud and leave the West groveling at his feet by destroying the
DMZ and allowing the North to dominate Korea.
I've Been Expecting You
007 goes head to head with the villain at his exclusive St. James's Street
club 'Blades' - where Graves is the fencing champion. Bond challenges the
sword master to a duel but soon ramps the action to a new level and the
fight is taken
up with sharper weapons and into the hallways and gardens.
Headquarters
Graves operates from his expansive headquarters in freezing
Iceland - an eco-centre with tropical gardens and climate
control. For his elaborate launch of Icarus, Graves has
a gigantic ice palace built to house his many guests and
strike an impressive stature in the arctic.
"People really need stories of good versus evil where good triumphs. That is archetypal, and humanity requires that, and this gives humanity that."
- Toby Stephens on villains |
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Gadgets & Vehicles
As a risk-taker and thrill-seeker, Graves indulges in various extreme
sports, including ice-dragster racing and land speed trials.
With his North Korean connections, Graves enlists a military
Antonov
transport
plane
to ship his entourage of supercars and weapons.
"You only get
one shot at life. Why waste it on sleep?" |
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Dress Code
Graves opts for the slick and refined dress sense and goes toe-to-toe with Bond,
claiming he modeled his persona on the arrogant and flippant British "gentleman".
When duelling 007 at the gentleman's club, Graves dons the classic fencing
suit.
Goodbye, Mr Bond
In a high-octane climax, Bond boards the Antonov and goes
man to man with Graves whilst the deadly beam of the
Icarus superweapon gauges up the Korean DMZ. Graves is
sent to a masticated demise when Bond pushes him out
of the plane and opens his parachute - sucked
him into
the whirring
jet engines. |
Biography
Born to Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Robert Stephens on the 21st of
April 1969, Toby Stephens spent his childhood in various nations
across the world as he traveled wherever his mother gained work.
Both Toby and brother Chris Larkin grew up to follow their parent's
profession and become accomplished actors in their own rights.
Stephens trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and during his studies worked as a stagehand at the Chichester Theatre Festival before landing roles onstage and in various television programmes. He made his film debut with a bit part in Sally Potter's 1992 adaptation of Orlando, but it was on the stage that he first made a name for himself.
He performed at the young
age of 25 for the Royal Shakespeare Company in "Coriolanus",
for which he was awarded the Sir John Gielgud Best Actor
Award and an Ian Charleson Award. After this success, Stephens
went on to star in a number of Royal Shakespeare Company
productions including, "Measure for Measure", "A
Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Anthony and Cleopatra".
Stephens was soon picked up for roles
on Television and in the movies, rising to fame in yet
another Shakespearian production - this time in Trevor
Nunn's feature film adaptation of "Twelfth Night".
After a variety of top-notch period dramas Stephens' reputation
began to grow among accomplished filmmakers and won roles
in a varying range of British pictures including "Photographing
Fairies" and "Cousin Bette".
In 1999, Stephens played opposite
accomplished actor Ralph Feinnes as Vladimir Lensky in
St. Petersburg set drama, "Onegin". In this
real-life drama, Feinnes adopted the role of the title
character
Evgeny Onegin.
Since his blockbuster debut as the villainous Graves in "Die
Another Day", Stephens returned to television and many
highly regarded period dramas such as Agatha Christie's Poirot
mystery "Five Little Pigs", the in-depth cold-case
drama "Waking the Dead" and even the role of Lord
Rochester in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre". |
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"Look, parachutes for the both
of us... whoops, not any more!" |
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