Oddjob James Bond: Goldfinger's Silent Henchman

Oddjob is Auric Goldfinger's silent, deadly servant and henchman in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, played by Harold Sakata. Guy Hamilton directed the film, and Sakata is billed fourth in a cast led by Sean Connery as James Bond, Gert Fröbe as Auric Goldfinger and Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore. The credits list him simply as Oddjob, with no other name.

He is the muscle of the operation. Where Goldfinger plans, bets and talks, Oddjob stays close by and acts, and the film never gives him a speech. That contrast is the whole design of the character: a rich, chatty criminal mastermind paired with a servant who does the dirty work without a word.

Goldfinger had its reported UK premiere of 20 September 1964 and its US release on 22 December 1964 (only the US date is confirmed). Oddjob appears in Goldfinger only and in no other EON film, so if you remember him in a later story, you are most likely thinking of a different henchman.

Oddjob serves Auric Goldfinger throughout Goldfinger (1964) and is killed in the Fort Knox vault at the climax. Sean Connery as James Bond is sent to watch Goldfinger, a gold dealer with a suspicious fortune. After Bond ruins Goldfinger's card cheating in Miami, Goldfinger kills the woman who helped him, and the story moves to Britain. Bond is given an Aston Martin fitted with gadgets and plays a round of golf against Goldfinger to learn more about him. It is during this stretch that he meets Oddjob.

From there Bond trails Goldfinger to Switzerland, where a factory and a grander plan come into view. He is captured and held in Kentucky, and learns that Goldfinger intends to attack the gold at Fort Knox. Pussy Galore, a pilot, has her flying team ready to spread gas over the area, while the real aim is to set off a bomb inside the vault so the gold becomes radioactive and unusable, which would raise the value of Goldfinger's own gold.

Oddjob's last stretch is the raid itself. Bond gets a message out, US forces move in, and Bond ends up handcuffed to the bomb in the vault. A specialist stops it with seven seconds left. Bond defeats Oddjob in the vault, and that ends his part in the story.

Oddjob is the loyal servant of Auric Goldfinger and an enemy of James Bond, whom he fights in the Fort Knox vault. Goldfinger is his employer, and the film treats Oddjob as a personal servant rather than a hired gun brought in for one job. Goldfinger talks and Oddjob acts, which is why the pair work so well together on screen. If you want the full profile of the man giving the orders, read Auric Goldfinger.

With James Bond, played by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964), Oddjob is a physical threat rather than a verbal rival. They meet around the golf game, and the conflict ends in the vault, where Bond defeats him.

Oddjob also sits inside a wider crew. Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman, leads the flying team that is ready to spread gas over Fort Knox. If you are looking for another henchman from the series, Jaws is the one to read next.

Oddjob dies in the Fort Knox vault in Goldfinger (1964), defeated by James Bond. The vault is also where Auric Goldfinger's plan comes to a head: Bond is handcuffed to the bomb, and a specialist stops it with seven seconds left.

So the status of the character is simple: dead, and not revived. Oddjob does not return in any later EON film, and he is not recast, which makes his single appearance a closed chapter. That is part of why he is remembered so strongly for one film, with the vault as his final scene.

Oddjob's best moments are his introduction at the golf game and the Fort Knox vault fight in Goldfinger (1964). The golf stretch comes first, and I think it shows the character's whole purpose without a line of dialogue. Sean Connery as James Bond is trying to learn about Auric Goldfinger, and the introduction of the silent servant tells us how dangerous the household is. It could be argued that this is a smarter way to establish a henchman than a big fight, since the menace comes from restraint.

My second pick is the vault, where the film runs two problems side by side: a bomb that must be stopped and a servant who must be beaten. Bond is handcuffed to the bomb, the countdown reaches seven seconds, and Oddjob is defeated in the same room. Perhaps that is why the sequence sticks in the memory, since all the tension is packed into one space.

If you are new to the series, start here. Watch Goldfinger and you will see the character for yourself. For the bigger picture, the James Bond villains page puts him alongside the rest.