Le Chiffre - 2006 Film Biography

2006 Film Biography

Le Chiffre is the main villain of the official 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale, portrayed by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. Believed by MI6 to be Albanian and officially stateless, according to his file, Le Chiffre is a financier of international terrorism. M implies that Le Chiffre was involved in the September 11 attacks, or at least deliberately profiteered from them. In the video game version of Quantum of Solace, it is said that his birth name is "Jean Duran", in the MI6 mission briefings. A mathematical genius and a chess prodigy, his abilities enable him to earn large sums of money on games of chance and probabilities, and he likes to show off by playing poker. He suffers from haemolacria, which causes him to weep blood out of a damaged left eye, and, as in Fleming's novel, dresses in immaculate black suits and uses a Salbutamol inhaler, here plated with platinum. To date he is the only main Bond villain to die before the film's final act.

Le Chiffre is contacted by Mr. White, a representative of an elitist criminal organisation later revealed to be Quantum. White introduces Steven Obanno, a formidable leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda to Le Chiffre, and arranges to bank several briefcases full of cash for Obanno. Le Chiffre invests the money along with his other creditors' money in the aircraft manufacturer SkyFleet. Though SkyFleet's shares have been skyrocketing, he plans to short the company by purchasing put options, and ordering the destruction of the company's new prototype airliner, set to make its first flight out of Miami International Airport. Bond intervenes and foils the plan, costing Le Chiffre his entire investment totaling US$101,206,000.

In order to win the money back, while not informing Mr. White or Obanno, Le Chiffre sets up and enters a high stakes Texas hold 'em tournament in Montenegro at the Casino Royale in an attempt to recoup the loss before Obanno learns that his money has been misappropriated. Bond is sent to make sure that Le Chiffre does not win back the money. The reasoning is to force Le Chiffre to turn to MI6 for protection, in exchange for information on his creditors and employers. Bond plants a listening device in Le Chiffre's inhaler shortly after the tournament begins.

During the tournament, an enraged Obanno and his lieutenant break into Le Chiffre's hotel room and threaten him and his girlfriend, Valenka. Le Chiffre does not blanch at the threatened amputation of Valenka's arm, and is granted one last chance to win their money back.

As Obanno leaves the room, his bodyguard spots Bond and hears Valenka's cries coming from Bond's earpiece. In the subsequent brawl, 007 kills both Obanno and his henchman, and Rene Mathis arranges the blame to be placed on Le Chiffre's bodyguard Leo.

During the tense tournament, Le Chiffre initially outwits and bankrupts Bond, who cannot get additional funding from MI6 accountant Vesper Lynd, who has accompanied Bond to make sure the money is used properly. However, Felix Leiter, an American CIA agent also playing in the game and is on course to lose, agrees to bankroll Bond, on the condition that CIA is allowed to take Le Chiffre in afterwards. Desperate, Le Chiffre has Valenka attempt to poison Bond's drink. Bond is almost killed, but, thanks to an antitoxin kit in his car and Vesper's timely interference, is revived at the last moment and returns to the game. During the final round, Le Chiffre's full house bests the hands of the two players preceding him, but loses to Bond's straight flush.

Enraged by his loss, Le Chiffre kidnaps Vesper, forcing Bond to give chase, and Bond is led straight into his trap. Le Chiffre leaves Vesper, bound at the feet and hands, in the middle of the road, and Bond is forced to swerve to avoid hitting her and crashes his car.

When Bond regains consciousness he is stripped naked and tied to a chair with its cane seat cut out. Le Chiffre proceeds to torture Bond by repeatedly whipping him in the testicles with the large knotted end of a thick rope, trying to extort the password that will enable Le Chiffre to collect the tournament winnings. Bond refuses to give in and plays on Le Chiffre's fear that there will be retribution from the clients whose money he lost. Le Chiffre then states that if he is unable to retrieve the password than he will still kill both Bond and Vesper Lynd and opt for protection from MI6; Le Chiffre says that he wins either way. When Bond refuses to give in, Le Chiffre brandishes a knife and is about to castrate him.

Just then, Mr. White (who has already shot dead all of Le Chiffre's associates) bursts into the room, holding Le Chiffre at gunpoint and informing him that he has just become a liability. Le Chiffre pleads for his life, promising that he'll get the money, but it is to no avail; Mr. White responds coldly, "Money isn't as valuable to our organization as knowing who to trust" and then shoots Le Chiffre in the forehead with a SIG Sauer P230 fitted with a suppressor.