Colonel Heller is a fictional character from the James Bond film Licence to Kill; he was played by Don Stroud.

Don Stroud as Colonel Heller in ‘Licence to Kill’.

Heller is Franz Sanchez’s head of security, a disgraced ex-Green Beret from the US. When Sanchez takes Bond into his circle of allies, Heller researches Bond’s past employment in the Secret Service and presents it to Sanchez, but since Bond’s cover story has already included mention of this, his true allegiance is not revealed.

Heller is also suspicious of the Hong Kong Narcotics agents who have infiltrated the meeting of drug barons, and oversees the military operation to destroy their base in Isthmus. While leading the raid, he bursts into the devastated safehouse and shoots agent Loti dead. He then discovers that the other agent, Kwang, is still alive from the explosions of a tank shell fired at the base. However, rather than give into Sanchez’s rage, Kwang bites into a cyanide capsule, killing him.

Heller’s other main responsibility is to look after four Stinger missiles recently purchased from the Contras for the purpose of blackmailing the US government. However, he has secretly arranged a deal with Pam Bouvier to return the Stingers in exchange for personal immunity from the DEA. Heller almost calls off the deal when Sanchez is nearly killed (by Bond), but later attempts to use the mayhem of the fire at the drugs distribution centre as an opportunity to remove the missiles to safety.

Bond’s machinations involve casting doubt on the loyalty of all of Sanchez’s trusted circle, and he uses what he knows of the Stingers to make Sanchez suspicious. Heller is, thus, caught in the act by Sanchez himself, who promptly has him killed (offscreen). Bond and Pam find the soldier’s body impaled on a forklift truck as they attempt to escape the burning complex. “Looks like he came to a dead end,” quips Bond.

See also:

• Bond henchmen