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, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
and the main
antagonist in the 1995
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional 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 1964, eight other authors have ...
film ''
GoldenEye
''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...
'', the first film to feature actor
Pierce Brosnan 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 ac ...
. 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, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
GoldenEye 007''.
Film biography
Character information
Originally known as "Agent 006" under the
employment of Her Majesty's Secret Service, Trevelyan betrays
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
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 ...
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 a ...
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 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 1964, eight other authors have ...
(
Pierce Brosnan). During the operation, Trevelyan is caught and apparently executed by the base's commander, Colonel Arkady Ourumov (
Gottfried John
Gottfried John (; 29 August 1942 – 1 September 2014) was a German stage, screen, and voice actor. A long-time collaborator of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John appeared in nine of the filmmaker's projects between 1975 and 1981, the year befor ...
). 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 attributes ...
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 (
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", 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
The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...
. 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 totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. 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 Secretar ...
'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 f ...
. 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 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 is ...
, using his two primary operatives, Ourumov and
Xenia Onatopp (
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 ...
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 deb ...
, and causing global economic chaos.
Bond stops this scheme with the help of surviving Severnaya technician
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 her ...
) 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'' (19 ...
). 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 ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...
'' 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
Elliot Aidan Cowan (born 9 July 1976) is an English people, English actor, known for portraying Corporal Jem Poynton in ''Ultimate Force'', Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr Darcy in ''Lost in Austen'', and Ptolemy I Soter, Ptolemy in the 2004 film ''Alexan ...
and also uses Cowan's likeness.
Reception
Trevelyan was the only
00 Agent
In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (typically read "double O" and denoted in Fleming's novels by the letters ''OO'' rather than the digits ''00'') is a ...
(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
Lashana Lynch (born 27 November 1987) is a British actress. She is best known for playing the role of Rosaline Capulet in the ABC period drama series '' Still Star-Crossed'' (2017), Maria Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films '' ...
's Nomi in 2021's ''
No Time to Die
''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...
''. Previously, the only other '00' agent to have had any amount of screen time in a Bond film was ''
Octopussy
''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...
''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 adapted ...
'', and ''
The Living Daylights
''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...
''), 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
This is a list of actors who were considered for the role of James Bond, both officially (auditioned by the film producers) and unofficially (supported by fans and celebrities) but did not play the role of agent 007. The separate list of ''James B ...
).
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