Oddjob
From Free net encyclopedia
- This article is about the James Bond henchman. For the graphic novel, see Oddjob (graphic novel).
| James Bond character | |
|---|---|
| Image:HaroldSakata007.jpg Harold Sakata playing Oddjob | |
| Oddjob | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | Mid 30s |
| Affiliation | Auric Goldfinger |
| Current status | Terminated |
| Portrayed by | Harold Sakata |
Oddjob is a henchman to the villain Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film and novel, Goldfinger. In the film he was played by the Japanese American actor Harold Sakata. He has but two lines in the movie ("Aha!" and the terrified screaming during his death.)
Contents |
Biography
The film
Oddjob acts as Goldfinger's personal chauffeur and bodyguard in the film. He is extremely strong, demonstrating his strength in a number of scenes, including one where he crushes a golf ball with his bare hand and was later struck with a thrown gold brick in the chest and barely flinched. He uses, as a main weapon, a bowler hat lined with a razor disk in the rim, using it as a lethal Frisbee of sorts. He was outmanouevered when Bond threw his hat into some metal bars in the Fort Knox vault. When Oddjob reached to retrieve his hat, with its metal lining, Bond used a severed live electrical cable to electrify the bars, causing a deadly current to run from the bars through the hat to Oddjob, killing him.
The novel
Oddjob, so named by Goldfinger, is Korean-born, and, much like in the film, he is extremely strong, proven in one sequence where he breaks the railing of a staircase with his hand and the mantle of a fireplace with his foot. He is a ruthless killer, but also acts as Goldfinger's personal guard and manservant. He has a taste for cats as food, apparently acquired in Korea when food was in short supply. He has a cleft palate and thus cannot speak reasonably intelligible English, although he appears to understand it. He is killed when Bond shatters the window next to his seat on an airplane, which depressurises the plane and sucks Oddjob out of the window. (This fate is transferred to Auric Goldfinger in the film version.)
Other appearances
Oddjob has appeared in a number of James Bond games as a playable character that the player can choose for multiplayer. In Nightfire, Oddjob can use his hat as a weapon (as in the film) for an instant kill.
For the 2004 video game, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, he was resurrected for the game's story mode and is killed by being tossed over a rail into a bottomless pit by the title character.
Trivia
- In the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Oddjob is parodied by a character called Random Task, who throws his shoe as a weapon.
- Another parody is in the game Fur Fighters, where a hat-throwing bear called Oddfelt appears in the last level.
- Leonardo Leonardo's publicist Plug is a parody of Oddjob in Clerks: The Animated Series.
- Oddjob's trademark hat-throwing technique can also be seen in Toy Story 2, in which Mr.Potato-Head throws his own bowler hat to prevent two doors from closing.
- In the Mortal Kombat video game series, a recurring character named Kung Lao has a similar blade-rimmed hat that can be thrown at opponents.