Michael Lonsdale dies aged 89: James Bond villain and The Day of the Jackal star passes away at home in Paris
James Bond star Michael Lonsdale has died aged 89.
The Moonraker villain, who played Hugo Drax in the 1979 film, passed away at his home in Paris, his agent Olivier Loiseau confirmed on Monday.
Lonsdale played an industrialist planning to poison all of humanity before repopulating the planet from his space station, opposite Bond icon Sir Roger Moore.
Sad news: James Bond star Michael Lonsdale has died aged 89
When quizzed by James Bond fan site Mi6-HQ if ever worried about playing a Bond villian and if it would affect his career, he said: ‘Not at all! On the contrary!
‘Because, I made so many films that were not really very popular or didn’t make much money, and I only made poor films, so I thought I might like to be in a rich film.’
He added: ‘It was a great experience to make a very popular film. Everybody was so kind. Roger Moore, Lois Chiles and Richard Kiel were all wonderful. There was a beautiful understanding between the actors, and so I was very happy to do that.’