Alec Trevelyan
Encyclopedia
Alexander "Alec" Trevelyan (006), also known as Janus, is a fictional character
and the main antagonist
in the 1995 James Bond
film GoldenEye
, portrayed by actor Sean Bean
. The likeness of Bean as Alec Trevelyan was also used for the 1997 video game, GoldenEye 007.
chemical weapons facility in the Soviet Union
while working with his close friend, James Bond
(Pierce Brosnan
). 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 intimates to M
(Judi Dench
) that he feels responsible for Trevelyan's (apparent) death. Bond was 33 years old, Trevelyan was 27 years old.
Nine years later, Bond's pursuit of a stolen helicopter and investigation of an explosion at Severnaya leads him to Saint Petersburg
, where he learns from Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane
) 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 Archangelsk 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 but attempted to defect to the British
at the end of World War II
. When The British instead sent them back to the USSR, many were executed by Joseph Stalin
's death squads
. 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
and was taken in by MI6, which continued to sponsor his training and education throughout his childhood. He began formal work for the British government upon attaining his majority, in order to get revenge against the British government for his family's demise.
from the French
frigate
La Fayette
docked in Monte Carlo
, using his two primary operatives, Ourumov and Xenia Onatopp
(Famke Janssen
). 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. The GoldenEye satellite, actually two disposable satellites named Petya and Mischa, are capable of emitting targeted electromagnetic pulse
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.
Mischa would then be used to aid Trevelyan in stealing hundreds of millions of pounds via computer from the Bank of England
in London
, and erasing all evidence of the transaction. Mischa would destroy the city, crippling the British economy and government, triggering a catastrophic currency crisis
, and causing global stock market
and economic chaos. Trevelyan, having obtained the only valuable currency of pounds sterling, could have economic supremacy over the British and the world in an era of terrorism for decades.
Bond stops this scheme with the help of former Severnaya technician Natalya Simonova
(Izabella Scorupco
) and Central Intelligence Agency
agent Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker
), Wade helping Bond and Natalya track Trevelyan's headquarters and Natalya subsequently programming the GoldenEye satellite to crash after resetting the access codes. While Bond is running across the cradle to disable the GoldenEye antenna, Trevelyan starts chasing 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 legs. While hanging, Trevelyan smugly asks Bond, "For England
, James?" to which Bond replies, "No, for me." Bond then lets go, and Trevelyan falls all the way down to the dish; he survives, but is badly wounded. Moments later, the antenna array, due to Bond's sabotage, explodes and collapses in a fiery wreck on top of Trevelyan, killing him.
009, portrayed by stuntman Andy Bradford. Besides seeing the back of their heads or before they are shortly killed and/or dead already (Thunderball
, The Living Daylights
, and A View to a Kill
, respectively), other 00 agents are rarely seen and only spoken of. Bean auditioned, and was considered for the role of Bond (see List of actors considered for the James Bond character).
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
in the 1995 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
, portrayed by actor Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
. The likeness of Bean as Alec Trevelyan was also used for the 1997 video game, GoldenEye 007.
Character information
Once known as "Agent 006" under the employment of Her Majesty's Secret Service, Trevelyan betrays MI6 during a mission to blow up the ArkhangelskArkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
chemical weapons facility in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
while working with his close friend, James Bond
James Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
(Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
). During the operation, Trevelyan is caught and apparently executed by the base's commander, Colonel Arkady Ourumov (Gottfried John
Gottfried John
-Life and work:During the 1970s and early 1980s, Gottfried John played various roles in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, notably that of Reinhold in the epic Berlin Alexanderplatz . He is internationally known for his portrayals of General Ourumov in the James Bond film GoldenEye and Julius...
). Presuming Trevelyan dead, Bond continues the mission and escapes aboard a supply plane. Bond later intimates to M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
(Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
) that he feels responsible for Trevelyan's (apparent) death. Bond was 33 years old, Trevelyan was 27 years old.
Nine years later, Bond's pursuit of a stolen helicopter and investigation of an explosion at Severnaya leads him to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, where he learns from Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
) that "Janus
Janus
-General:*Janus , the two-faced Roman god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings*Janus , a moon of Saturn*Janus Patera, a shallow volcanic crater on Io, a moon of Jupiter...
", the head of the crime syndicate responsible for the theft, is a Lienz Cossack
Betrayal of the Cossacks
The Repatriation of Cossacks after WW2, also known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks, the Tragedy of Drau or the Massacre of Cossacks at Lienz refers to the forced repatriation to the USSR of the Cossacks and ethnic Russians who were allies of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.The...
. Later, when he finally meets Janus, Bond is shocked to discover Trevelyan, who staged his own execution at Archangelsk and now employs Ourumov, now a General in the Russian Army
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the 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
Betrayal of the Cossacks
The Repatriation of Cossacks after WW2, also known as the Betrayal of the Cossacks, the Tragedy of Drau or the Massacre of Cossacks at Lienz refers to the forced repatriation to the USSR of the Cossacks and ethnic Russians who were allies of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.The...
who had collaborated with the Nazis but attempted to defect to the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. When The British instead sent them back to the USSR, many were executed by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death squads
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
. 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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and was taken in by MI6, which continued to sponsor his training and education throughout his childhood. He began formal work for the British government upon attaining his majority, in order to get revenge against the British government for his family's demise.
Scheme
Trevelyan's scheme begins with the theft of the experimental Tiger helicopterEurocopter Tiger
The Eurocopter Tiger is an attack helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter. In Germany it is known as the Tiger; in France and Spain it is called the Tigre.-Origins:...
from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
La Fayette
La Fayette (F710)
The La Fayette is a second-line multi-mission stealth frigate of the French Marine Nationale. She is the second French vessel named after the 18th century general Marquis de Lafayette. She is the lead ship of the class. The same class is also used by the Royal Saudi Navy.The ship has appeared in...
docked in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, using his two primary operatives, Ourumov and Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Sergeyevna Onatopp is a supporting villain in the James Bond film GoldenEye, played by actress Famke Janssen.-Biography:Xenia, born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, was a fighter pilot in the Red Air Force. After the collapse of the USSR, she joined the crime syndicate Janus, led by...
(Famke Janssen
Famke Janssen
Famke Beumer Janssen is a Dutch actress and former fashion model. She is known for playing the villainous Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye and Jean Grey/Phoenix in the X-Men film series .- Early life and education :...
). 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. The GoldenEye satellite, actually two disposable satellites named Petya and Mischa, are capable of emitting targeted electromagnetic pulse
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
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.
Mischa would then be used to aid Trevelyan in stealing hundreds of millions of pounds via computer from the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and erasing all evidence of the transaction. Mischa would destroy the city, crippling the British economy and government, triggering a catastrophic currency crisis
Currency crisis
A currency crisis, which is also called a balance-of-payments crisis, is a sudden devaluation of a currency caused by chronic balance-of-payments deficits which usually ends in a speculative attack in the foreign exchange market. It occurs when the value of a currency changes quickly, undermining...
, and causing global stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
and economic chaos. Trevelyan, having obtained the only valuable currency of pounds sterling, could have economic supremacy over the British and the world in an era of terrorism for decades.
Bond stops this scheme with the help of former Severnaya technician Natalya Simonova
Natalya Simonova
Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova is a fictional character and the main Bond girl in the James Bond film GoldenEye, played by actress Izabella Scorupco.-Biography:...
(Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco is a Polish-Swedish actress and model, best known for her portrayal of Bond girl Natalya Simonova in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.- Biography :...
) and Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker is an American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as a Mafia hitman in Charley Varrick, deputy sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III in Final Justice, real-life Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall, brute force with a badge detective Mitchell in Mitchell, James...
), Wade helping Bond and Natalya track Trevelyan's headquarters and Natalya subsequently programming the GoldenEye satellite to crash after resetting the access codes. While Bond is running across the cradle to disable the GoldenEye antenna, Trevelyan starts chasing 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 legs. While hanging, Trevelyan smugly asks Bond, "For England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, James?" to which Bond replies, "No, for me." Bond then lets go, and Trevelyan falls all the way down to the dish; he survives, but is badly 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 GoldeneyeGoldenEyeGoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
persona (however, due to the lack of resolution of his polygon meshPolygon meshA polygon mesh or unstructured grid is a collection of vertices, edges and faces that defines the shape of a polyhedral object in 3D computer graphics and solid modeling...
makes this difficult to verify), including appearance and back-story. - The 2010 enhanced remakeGoldenEye 007 (2010 video game)GoldenEye 007 is a 2010 first-person shooter video game developed by Eurocom and published by Activision for the Wii video game console, and the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is a reimagining of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, and the 1997 Nintendo 64 video game GoldenEye 007...
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 been changed as well. His background includes having served in the Parachute Regiment previous to joining MI6. He is voiced by Elliot CowanElliot CowanElliot Cowan is an English actor, known for portraying Corporal Jem Poynton in Ultimate Force, Mr Darcy in Lost in Austen and Ptolemy in the 2004 film Alexander.-Background:...
and also uses Cowan's likeness.
Behind the scenes
Trevelyan is the only 00 agent (other than Bond himself) to have a substantial role in a Bond film, which includes a sizeable screen and speaking time. The only other 00 agent to have any amount of screentime in a Bond film is OctopussyOctopussy
Octopussy is the thirteenth entry in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's title is taken from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights...
009, portrayed by stuntman Andy Bradford. Besides seeing the back of their heads or before they are shortly killed and/or dead already (Thunderball
Thunderball (film)
Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
, The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
, and A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
, respectively), other 00 agents are rarely seen and only spoken of. Bean auditioned, and was considered for the role of Bond (see List of actors considered for the James Bond character).