Alec Trevelyan (006) is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, Play (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
and the main
antagonist in the 1995
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...
film ''
GoldenEye
''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...
'', the first film to feature actor
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 ('' GoldenEye'', '' Tomorrow ...
as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor
Sean Bean
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of '' Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ...
. The likeness of Bean as Alec Trevelyan was also used for the 1997
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
''
GoldenEye 007''.
Film biography
Character information
Originally known as "Agent 006" under the
employment of Her Majesty's Secret Service, Trevelyan betrays
MI6 during a mission to blow up the
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near i ...
chemical weapons
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...
facility in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
while working with his friend and fellow agent,
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...
(
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 ('' GoldenEye'', '' Tomorrow ...
). During the operation, Trevelyan is caught and apparently executed by the base's commander, Colonel Arkady Ourumov (
Gottfried John). Presuming Trevelyan dead, Bond continues the mission and escapes aboard a supply plane. Bond later admits to
M (
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
) that he feels responsible for Trevelyan's apparent death.
Nine years later, Bond's pursuit of a stolen
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...
and investigation of an explosion at Severnaya leads him to
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, where he learns from gangster
Valentin Zukovsky
This is a list of allies of ''James Bond'' who appear throughout the film series and novels.
MI6
M
M is a Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy, and the head of the Secret Intelligence Service. Fleming based the character on a number of people ...
(
Robbie Coltrane
Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. H ...
) that "
Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
", the head of the crime syndicate responsible for the theft, is a
Lienz Cossack. Later, when he finally meets Janus, Bond is shocked to discover Trevelyan, who staged his own execution at Arkhangelsk and now employs Ourumov, now a general in the
Russian army. Trevelyan's face is scarred from the explosion at the weapons factory, a direct result of Bond changing the sequence detonation timers.
Trevelyan reveals that his motive for his betrayal is a personal one. His parents were Lienz Cossacks who had collaborated with the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
but attempted to defect to the
UK at the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. When the UK instead
sent them back to the Soviets, many were executed by
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's
death squads
A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are ...
. Though Trevelyan's parents survived, his father, ashamed to have lived, killed his wife and himself. At the time, Trevelyan was only six years old. He was then transported to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and taken in by MI6, which continued to sponsor his training and education throughout his childhood (by Trevelyan's own account, MI6 thought he would have been "too young to remember"). He began formal work for the
British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
upon turning 18 and began planning his revenge against the British government for his family's demise.
He had considered asking Bond to join him in his scheme, but knew deep down that Bond would never betray MI6.
Scheme
Trevelyan's scheme begins with the theft of the experimental
Tiger helicopter from the French
frigate ''
La Fayette'' docked in
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino i ...
, using his two primary operatives, Ourumov and
Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Zaragevna Onatopp (russian: Ксения Сергеевна Онатопп, Kseniya Sergeevna Onatopp) is a fictional character and Bond girl in the James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', played by actress Famke Janssen. She is a fighter pilot and ...
(
Famke Janssen
Famke Beumer Janssen (; born ) is a Dutch actress. She played Xenia Onatopp in '' GoldenEye'' (1995), Jean Grey / Phoenix in the ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2014), and Lenore Mills in the ''Taken'' film trilogy (2008–2014). In 2008, she ...
). With the helicopter, the two fly to the GoldenEye satellite facility in
Severnaya, where they murder the staff and steal the access disk and keys for the GoldenEye satellite and program the satellite to target the facility in order to cover up the theft. The GoldenEye satellite is actually two disposable satellites named ''Petya'' and ''Mischa'', which are capable of emitting targeted
electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. Depending upon the source, the origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic fi ...
s capable of destroying any machinery with an electronic signal. As ''Petya'' destroys the Severnaya facility, Ourumov and Onatopp escape aboard the Tiger helicopter, which is insulated against electromagnetic radiation.
With the help of traitorous Severnaya programmer Boris Grishenko (
Alan Cumming), Trevelyan plans to use ''Mischa'' to help him electronically steal hundreds of millions of
pounds sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and th ...
from the
Bank of England in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, with its electromagnetic pulse causing a blackout in London that would erase all evidence of the transaction. ''Mischa'' would also erase the bank's financial records, crippling the British economy and government, triggering a catastrophic
currency crisis
A currency crisis is a type of financial crisis, and is often associated with a real economic crisis. A currency crisis raises the probability of a banking crisis or a default crisis. During a currency crisis the value of foreign denominated debt ...
, and causing global economic chaos.
Bond stops this scheme with the help of surviving Severnaya technician
Natalya Simonova
Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova (russian: Наталья Фёдоровна Семёнова) is a fictional character and the main Bond girl in the James Bond film '' GoldenEye'', played by actress Izabella Scorupco.
Biography
Natalya Simonova ...
(
Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco (born Izabela Dorota Skorupko; 4 June 1970) is a Polish-born Swedish actress, singer and model. She is best known for having played Bond girl Natalya Simonova in the 1995 James Bond film '' GoldenEye''. She is also known for h ...
) and
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
agent Jack Wade (
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker (born February 12, 1936) is an American character actor and a life member of the Actors Studio. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles as a mysterious cowboy drifter in '' Guns of the Magnificent Seven'' (1 ...
). Wade helps Bond and Natalya track Trevelyan's headquarters, and Natalya subsequently programs the GoldenEye satellite to crash after resetting the access codes. As Bond attempts to disable the GoldenEye antenna, Trevelyan attacks him. In the subsequent fight, Trevelyan finally gets the better of Bond and is about to shoot him when Bond kicks a ladder releasing it and carrying Bond to the bottom of a satellite antenna, suspended high above the dish. Trevelyan then climbs down to Bond, who slips and is just able to stay on the tiny platform. Bond eventually knocks Trevelyan off the antenna, but reflexively grabs him by the leg. While hanging, Trevelyan smugly asks Bond, "For England, James?" Bond replies, "No, for me," and lets go. Trevelyan falls all the way down to the dish; he survives but is mortally wounded. Moments later, the antenna array, due to Bond's sabotage, explodes and collapses in a fiery wreck on top of Trevelyan, killing him.
''GoldenEye 007'' (video game)
*The original ''
GoldenEye 007'' had no voiceovers, and thus no voice actor played Alec Trevelyan. He is based almost completely on his ''
GoldenEye
''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...
'' persona, including appearance and back-story.
*The
2010 enhanced remake of the original updates the story, setting it to the present day. With his original motivation of revenge for his parents' betrayal no longer practical given his age, Trevelyan's motives for betraying the United Kingdom are now his disgust at the current economic system; it is implied that he was actively involved in operations as Janus while still working with MI6 rather than starting Janus after his 'death'. His essential plan remains the same, however. His appearance has changed as well. His background includes having served in the
Parachute Regiment prior to joining MI6. He is voiced by
Elliot Cowan and also uses Cowan's likeness.
Reception
Trevelyan was the only
00 Agent (other than Bond himself) to have a substantial role in a Bond film, including sizeable screen and speaking time, until the debut of
Lashana Lynch's Nomi in 2021's ''
No Time to Die''. Previously, the only other '00' agent to have had any amount of screen time in a Bond film was ''
Octopussy''s 009, portrayed by stuntman
Andy Bradford. Apart from seeing the back of their heads or shortly before they are killed and/or dead already (''
Thunderball'', ''
A View to a Kill
''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adap ...
'', and ''
The Living Daylights''), other 00 agents are rarely seen and only spoken of. When Bean auditioned for the film, he was considered for the role of Bond (see
List of actors considered for the James Bond character).
Trevelyan has been ranked among the greatest Bond villains and is considered the dark inversion of Bond.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trevelyan, Alec
Bond villains
Fictional gangsters
Film characters introduced in 1995
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional British secret agents
Fictional Russian people
Orphan characters in film
GoldenEye
Fictional characters with disfigurements
Video game bosses
Fictional terrorists
Fictional Cossacks
Male film villains
Action film villains
Fictional crime bosses
Film supervillains