Motifs in the James Bond film series Bond" actors. Llewelyn's first film was the second in the Eon series, "From Russia with Love", after the actor who played the part in "Dr. No", Peter Burton, was unavailable for the filming schedule. (Burton's character was not yet called Q, but "the Armourer", Major Boothroyd, who instructed Bond on a new firearm, the Walther PPK.) After appearing as Q's assistant in "The World Is Not Enough", John Cleese appeared as Q in Pierce Brosnan's last film, "Die Another Day". For Daniel Craig's third film, "Skyfall", the character was re-introduced, with Ben Whishaw playing the part. The first Bond film,
Desmond Llewelyn was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army, serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers. In 1940, he was captured by the German Army in France and was held as a prisoner of war for five years, in the infamous Colditz Castle in Germany. Llewelyn was chosen for the role of Q because of his work with director Terence Young in the 1950 war film "They Were Not Divided", in which he played a tank gunner. Beginning with "From Russia with Love" in 1963, Llewelyn appeared as Q, the quartermaster of the MI6 gadget lab (also known as Q