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 utterances in the film: “Aha!” which is used in the golf game, and as an order to fellow henchmen, and the terrified screaming during his death.

Harold Sakata as Oddjob in ‘Goldfinger’.

The character of Oddjob, from his unusual appearance, manners, strength and method of killing, forms the archetype for which many henchmen of the Bond film series were based on, which includes Jaws, Nick Nack, Chang, and Gobinda. Oddjob is clearly far superior in strength and unarmed combat skills to Bond in both film and novel, and therefore must be killed by application of superior cunning (by depressurisation in the book and electrocution in the film).

Novel biography: Oddjob, so named by Goldfinger, is Korean-born, and, much like in the film, 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. Expert at unarmed combat, Oddjob is also expert with a bow and arrow, and with his metal derby hat. He is a ruthless killer, but also acts as Goldfinger’s personal guard, driver, and manservant (though not his golf caddy). He has a taste for cats as food, apparently acquired in Korea when food was in short supply (Bond frames Goldfinger’s yellow cat for destruction of surveillance film, and as punishment, sees the cat given to Oddjob for dinner). Oddjob has a cleft palate and thus cannot speak reasonably intelligible English, although he appears to understand it. He is killed when Bond uses a knife to shatter the window next to his seat on an airplane, which depressurises the plane and sucks Oddjob out of the window, a fate transferred to Auric Goldfinger in the film version.

Film biography: Oddjob acts as Goldfinger’s personal chauffeur, bodyguard and golf caddy in the film. He is extremely strong and durable, demonstrating his strength in a number of scenes, including one where he crushes a golf ball with his bare hand, and later is struck with a thrown gold brick in the chest with scarcely a flinch. He is expert at unarmed combat, but also uses a silenced pistol on a mobster. He wears what appears to be a flat-topped top hat lined with a metal razor disk in the rim, using it as a lethal flying disc of sorts. He also used it to kill Tilly Masterson by breaking her neck.

James Bond confronts Oddjob in ‘Goldfinger’.

Physically, Oddjob is invincible to Bond’s hand-to-hand combat tactics, even when Bond uses a wooden object as a club. The only time Oddjob shows anything resembling fear or wariness in the film is when Bond is about the use the hat against him. Bond misses him with the throw, causing his hat to go into metal bars in the Fort Knox vault. Oddjob is then outmaneuvered when, as he reaches to retrieve his hat, Bond uses a severed live electrical cable to electrify the bars, causing a deadly current to run from the bars through the metal hat to Oddjob, which we assume kills him.

See also:

• Bond henchmen