List of henchmen in Die Another Day

This is a list of henchmen from the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.

Zao

Zao
Character from the James Bond franchise
Yune as the extreme looking Zao which required over three hours in make-up.
Affiliation	North Korea Colonel Tan-Sun Moon
Portrayed by	Rick Yune

Zao is a North Korean secret-agent played by Rick Yune.^[1] Yune described his character as one of the most "extreme" looking Bond villains.^[2] Yune's makeup, which included the implantation of real diamonds, required three hours.^[2]

Biography

He was originally a North Korean operative under the command of Colonel Tan-Sun Moon as the Colonel illegally dealt in arms in the Demilitarized Zone of North Korea. Bond, posing as a diamond smuggler called Van Bierk infiltrated Moon's base as part of an MI6 operation, hoping to exchange diamonds for arms and expose Moon. The case of diamonds was rigged with explosives and blew up, embedding several stones in Zao's face. Moon was supposedly killed in the assault. Zao went rogue, attempting to blow up a summit between the Chinese and the South Koreans. He killed three Chinese agents, but was later found and arrested by the UN forces. Bond was held captive by Moon's father.

14 months later, MI6 received intelligence that Bond may have cracked under the torture and revealed vital information, so a trade was arranged - Zao for Bond. Following Moon, Zao traveled to Cuba, planning to receive gene therapy to alter his appearance. However, Bond found the lab and halted the procedure before it was completed: Zao was left in a "blank human " state, an hairless albino with silvery eyes and with the diamonds still embedded under his skin. Zao fought Bond to a draw and escaped again. During his escape, Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson attempted to shoot Zao, but failed.

Zao caught up with Moon, who, through a course of gene therapy, was now Sir Gustav Graves, in Iceland. Bond, however, had figured out Graves' true identity. Ordered to kill Bond, Zao got in his modified Jaguar XKR, activated thermal imaging and chased Bond and his Aston Martin Vanquish across the ice plains using a number of deadly weapon emplacements installed in the Jaguar, such as a Gatling gun that rose from the rear section of the car. The chase led back to the melting ice palace, where Bond used the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish's adaptive camouflage to fool Zao into driving into the melted ice while the latter attempted to ram the Vanquish with the Jaguar's front retractable battering ram. Bond shot down a chandelier which landed on Zao as he tread the freezing water, impaling him. The chandelier was, fittingly, made from diamonds.

Trivia

Despite the character being a North Korean, Zao is not a Korean name, and therefore cannot be written in Korean since the language has no "z" sound (although it is possible to transcribe it as Jao). However, the word itself coincidentally means evil in serbo-croatian.

Miranda Frost

Miranda Frost
Character from the James Bond franchise
Affiliation	Gustav Graves/MI6
Portrayed by	Rosamund Pike

Miranda Frost is a spy and Bond girl in the James Bond film Die Another Day. She is played by Rosamund Pike.^[1] Frost is a double agent working for MI6; however, her allegiance lies with Gustav Graves, the main villain of the film.

Biography

Miranda Frost is a Harvard-educated, gold medal-winning Olympic fencer (trained by Madonna's character, Verity) posing as Graves' publicist and fencing partner. She won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics by default, after Graves organized the real gold medalist's death by steroids overdose. She is sent by M to work alongside Bond, but does not approve of Bond's methods. When Bond is caught by Mr. Kil and his minions, Frost helps Bond keep incognito by kissing him. They later go to Bond's room and have sex. James awakens and goes after Graves. Frost pleads for him not to go, but he insists. Unbeknownst to 007, Miranda secretly emptied the magazine of Bond's Walther P99. Later when she pulls a gun on Graves, it is revealed that she was the one who betrayed Bond in North Korea, which led to 14 months of torture for him, as well as framing him for revealing the identity of the head American agent which led to his execution at the hands of the North Korean Army. At this point she reveals that she is still a traitor, and turns the gun on Bond. Bond escapes with the ring that Q gave him - which shatters the glass floor that he is currently on - and Frost and Bond fall into the jungle environment part of the Ice Palace. Frost and Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson have a climactic fight aboard the descending plane. Frost narrowly slices Jinx in the stomach, but Jinx grabs a dagger-impaled copy of The Art of War and stabs Miranda in the heart, killing her.

• According to actress Rosamund Pike, in her DVD commentary for Die Another Day, Frost was originally going to be named Gala Brand, after the Bond girl in the novel Moonraker.

Vladimir Popov

Vladimir Popov
Character from the James Bond franchise
Affiliation	Gustav Graves
Portrayed by	Michael Gorevoy

Vladimir Popov (played by Michael Gorevoy) is a scientist who works for Gustav Graves.

Role

Vladimir Popov works as Gustav Graves' personal scientist. He makes his first appearance in the film when timing Graves, who is attempting to beat his best time across the ice in an ice dragster.

Popov reveals his role as a sort of mad scientist when he invents for Graves a remote control for the Icarus satellite which doubles as a heat-beam weapon. Popov is mainly seen throughout the rest of the film following Graves, but doing nothing of major importance. He annoys Graves when he reveals that Bond has beaten his speed record while escaping from Icarus.

The mad scientist's demise occurs when James Bond inadvertently shoots a hole in one of the windows of Graves' airborne jet, causing the cabin to depressurize; Popov is sucked out of the plane along with the other North Korean generals to their deaths.

Dr. Alvarez

Dr. Alvarez
Character from the James Bond franchise
Affiliation	Gustav Graves
Portrayed by	Simon Andreu

Dr. Alvarez (played by Simon Andreu) is a Surgeon affiliated to Gustav Graves.

Role

Dr. Alvarez is a surgeon in the gene therapy clinic on Isla Los Organos. Using the DNA of people such as orphans, vagrants, etc., he is able to create new physical appearances for his patients, whom, it is implied, are mostly dictators. Jinx poses as a potential patient in order to search for Zao's files, and upon the doctor telling her "I like to think of myself as an artist," she kills him, quipping that "most artists are not truly appreciated until after they're dead."

Mr. Kil

Mr. Kil
Character from the James Bond franchise
Affiliation	Gustav Graves
Portrayed by	Lawrence Makoare

Mr. Kil is a henchman of the main villain, Gustav Graves. In the film he was portrayed by New Zealand actor Lawrence Makoare. Kil is first introduced alongside his partner Pertant when Bond arrives in Iceland: "I am Mr Kil". Bond quips back: "Well, there's a name to die for." He tortures Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson and straps down her hands and feet. He is later killed by Jinx with a laser which impales him through the back of the head and out of the top of his mouth while fighting with Bond. After his demise, Bond and Jinx use the laser to cut Kil's hand off and use its pattern to gain access to Graves's personal quarters.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Scott, A.O. (2002-11-22). "Die Another Day (2002)". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=1&res=9C07E6D81439F931A15752C1A9649C8B63&scp=1&sq=Miranda%20Frost&st=cse&oref=login. Retrieved 2008-09-09. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Larry Carroll (2002-11-21). "Interview: Rick Yune". Counting Down. http://www.countingdown.com/features/?feature_id=265168. Retrieved 2008-09-09. 1