Emilio Largo is a fictional character and villain from the James Bond novel Thunderball. He also appears in the 1965 film of the same name. He was portrayed by Italian actor Adolfo Celi.

Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo in ‘Thunderball’.

Moreover, Largo is also the main villain in the 1983 unofficial James Bond film Never Say Never Again, a remake of Thunderball. In Never Say Never Again, the character’s name, however, was changed to Maximillian Largo and he was portrayed by the Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer.

Biography: Largo is the second-in-command of the terrorist organisation SPECTRE. In the film, Largo is “No. 2” and head of extortion operations. In the novel, Largo is “No. 1”; however the number is randomly assigned as a security precaution, although Largo is the successor to Ernst Stavro Blofeld and the Supreme Commander of “Plan Omega”.

Largo’s two main headquarters are located in Palmyra. The first is his estate which houses a giant swimming pool filled with sharks. Bond would later be thrown into this pool, but (of course) escape. The second is Largo’s private yacht, the Disco Volante. The Disco Volante was a hydrofoil craft purchased with SPECTRE funds for £200,000. The craft plays a pivotal role in the seizure and transportation of the two nuclear weapons.

Klaus Maria Brandauer as Maximilian Largo.

In the novel, Largo is shot through the neck with a harpoon by his mistress, Domino, while he and Bond engage in underwater fighting. In the film, his death is less gruesome, but more dramatic: Domino shoots him in the back with a harpoon while on the Disco Volante’s bridge. He is left on board as both Bond and Domino escape. The “Disco Volante” later runs aground and explodes.

Largo’s scheme in Thunderball, at the time, is unique and ingenious. It involves the theft of two nuclear weapons from NATO at sea to which he would then use to hold the world hostage by threatening to detonate the two devices in England or the United States unless they pay the ransom of £100 million British pounds. This scheme has been used countless times since Thunderball and is even a joke in the Austin Powers series of films.

The basic concept of Largo’s scheme in Thunderball is held over in Never Say Never Again. Like Thunderball the scheme involves obtaining two nuclear warheads, this time stealing them directly from a United States Air Force base in the UK and holding the world hostage.

See also:

• Bond villains