Pedro Armendáriz, born Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings (May 9, 1912, Mexico City – June 18, 1963, Los Angeles, California) was a Mexican-American actor.

Pedro Armendáriz as Sargeant Beaufort (left) confronts John Wayne in the classic ‘Fort Apache’ (1948).

When Pedro finished his studies, he moved to Mexico where he worked for the railroad, as a tour guide and as a journalist for the biligual magazine México Real. He was discovered by film director Miguel Zacarías when Pedro recited the monologue from Hamlet to an American tourist. He obtained his first role in a film at the age of 22 and after that he made many films in Mexico, the United States, France, Italy and England. He received a Ariel Award in 1948 in the category of Best Actor for his role in La perla.

His last appearance was in the second James Bond film, From Russia with Love (1963) as Bond’s ally, Kerim Bey. His son Pedro Armendáriz Jr is also an actor, who was in the James Bond film Licence to Kill in 1989.

In 1952 he had a role in the film The Conqueror produced by Howard Hughes. This film was filmed in the state of Utah during the time when the US government ran nuclear tests in the neighboring state of Nevada. 91 of the 220 people involved in the production of the film contracted cancer within 25 years, and 46 of these died as a consequence of this illness, including John Wayne.

Pedro Armendáriz started to suffer pain in his hips and years later it was discovered that he had cancer in these regions. Pedro learned his condition was terminal while at UCLA medical center. He reportedly acted in From Russia with Love while enduring great pain (he visibly limps in most scenes) in order to leave behind financial resources for his family after his impending death. He committed suicide soon after production of that film ended, on June 18, 1963.