Jack Wade is a fictional character in Pierce Brosnan’s first two James Bond films: GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Wade, played by Joe Don Baker, is 007’s CIA contact, presumably taking over the role of Felix Leiter after the events in the 1989 film Licence to Kill.

James Bond with Jack Wade.

Wade is named after Kevin Wade, an uncredited screenwriter who wrote the majority of the scenes featuring the character.

Biography: Baker plays Wade very close to the Ugly American stereotype, acting as a memorable and effective foil to the ultra-suave Bond. However, this should not imply that Wade is any less effective than his predecessor, Leiter. So far Wade has been just as helpful — and just as willing to bend the rules — as Bond’s original contact was.

In GoldenEye, Bond and Wade initially do not get along, as Wade has no patience for the cloak-and-dagger codes and passwords that “stiff-assed Brits” like Bond relies on. They quickly grow to like each other, however, as they share a disdain for rules and official etiquette. Through his access to CIA intelligence and marine forces, Wade helps Bond foil Alec Trevelyan’s plan to rob the British government of millions. At the end of GoldEneye, he reveals that he had several squads of Marines as well as three attack helicopters standing by as “backup”.

One of the funnier quirks of Wade’s character is the nicknames he would give to Bond, including “Jimmy” and “Jimbo.” He also has a tattoo of a rose from his third marriage that says “Muffy.”

In Tomorrow Never Dies, Wade meets Bond when 007 gives back an US Navy Global Positioning device back to a US Navy GPS expert. Wade helps 007 orchestrate a HALO jumpout of a US Army plane. Wade is muttering to himself as 007 is falling out of plane that he would have to testify in a United States Congress or United States Senate intelligence committees hearings.

The character of Wade is similar to that of CIA agent Darius Jedburgh, played by Baker in the 1985 BBC Television serial Edge of Darkness. The serial was also directed by Martin Campbell, who cast Baker as Wade in GoldenEye.

See also:

• Bond allies