General Orlov (Steven Berkoff)
"You should be more concerned
about getting out of here alive!" |
|
Datastream
Actor: Steven Berkoff
Character: General Orlov
Movie: Octopussy
Date of Birth: 3rd August 1937
Height: 5' 9" (1.75m)
Distinguishing Feature: General in the Russian Army
Status: Terminated
Appearance: Medium height and build with crew-cut hair and small, sharp blue-grey
eyes.
Organisation and Alliances: USSR Army, KGB, Kamal Kahn
Profile
General Orlov is a corrupt head of the Soviet forces
- with a penchant for jewellery forging and smuggling. Orlov
is
over-zealous and aggrieved with the actions of the Western
superpowers
and would like nothing more than for the Red Army to roll
across Europe with an unstoppable wave of military might.
He is sly but impatient and willing to defy his superiors
for
his
own
agenda.
The General is constantly pushing for the Motherland to take
a more aggressive stance against the encroachment of NATO.
He sees the Russian armed superiority going to waste in the
new wave
of detente.
|
Scheme
Teaming up with the suave exiled prince Kamal Kahn, Orlov forges
a plan to use the Octopussy circus
and its illicit smuggling operation to plant a bomb in the
midst of the US Airforce base in West Germany - triggering
the nuclear device
and making it seem an accident. With no one to blame for the
atomic mishap it will cause unilateral disarmament, and Soviet
tanks will
easily cross into Western Europe. In return, Orlov gives Khan
his stash of stolen Russian jewels which he has duplicated
with undetectable fakes. Orlov madly believes that
wiping out American forces in war-torn Germany will lead
to Soviet domination of
the West. Without the approval or knowledge of his KGB and
Army superiors, Orlov plots a diabolical innihilation of
Western Germany. When it becomes known that Orlov has been stealing
the jewels from the Kremlin Art Repository to fund his nightmarish
plan, General
Gogol goes
after Orlov personally.
I've Been Expecting You
Bond spies on a meet between Kahn
and Orlov at the prince's monsoon palace but doesn't come face to face
with the illusive General. When the plan is unmasked Bond again attempts
to catch up with Orlov when he confronts the villain on the Octopussy
circus train, prior to departure.
Headquarters
Very little is known about the operations of Orlov. The General
would have operated out of USSR Army bases and KGB headquarters
where he was involved in military and espionage strategy.
Gadgets & Vehicles
With the might of the Russian Army during the Cold War period, Orlov has cars
and helicopters deployed at his whim.
Dress Code
Never seen out of uniform, this manic General was immensely proud to wear the
Soviet colours - despite his twisted plot that could potentially fling
Russia into an unnecessary war.
Goodbye, Mr Bond
In a panic to keep his smuggled jewellery
a secret, Orlov pits himself against the Checkpoint Charlie
guards to a nasty outcome. Orlov is shot and killed in
his attempt
to cross the border without the correct procedures.
|
|
|
Biography
Steven Berkoff was born in Stepney, London, in August 1937, to
Pauline and Alfred Berks - a tailor. He studied
mime and drama in his hometown
before continuing his education abroad. He studied in Paris for
a period, honing his chosen art form at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq.
Berkoff first performed on-stage with the London Theatre
Group in 1968, which launched him into a very successful on-stage
career. His first stageshow was "In the Penal Colony" - the
first of several plays adapted from the work of 19th Century author, Franz
Kafka.
His first
written piece was 1975's "East" - which was first performed
at the Edinburgh Festival. Berkoff quickly rose to great respect
as an onstage actor and playwrite, appearing in "West", "Messiah" and "Metamorphosis" (another
Kafka adaptation).
In 1958 he made his on-screen debut but it took a slew of bit-parts during the 1960s to see Berkoff land a part in Stanley Kubrick's crazed crime-thriller "A Clockwork Orange". Out of his small but prestigious role in this picture, Berkoff landed a host of offers and opportunities. He would go on to play Lord Ludd in "Barry Lyndon", another Kubrick drama, the villainous Victor Maitland in "Beverly Hills Cop" and Podovsky in the 1985 action-flick, "Rambo II".
Berkoff continues to have an active filmmaking
career through the 1990s and today - however some of
his most memorable work is in theatre. He has directed a
toured
professional
productions of "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" and
more recently, "Salome" by Oscar Wilde. Berkoff is
also synonymous with one-man stageshows, notably his 2000 tour
of "Shakespeare's Villains". He is currently the
patron for a fringe theatre venue, the Nightingale Theatre
in Brighton,
UK.