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| Bill Tanner | |
|---|---|
| James Bond character | |
 From top left clockwise Michael Goodliffe, James Villiers, Rory Kinnear, and Michael Kitchen as Bill Tanner | |
| Created by | Ian Fleming |
| Portrayed by | Michael Goodliffe (1974) James Villiers (1981) Michael Kitchen (1995–1999) Rory Kinnear (2008–2021) |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | William Tanner |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Chief of Staff |
| Affiliation | MI6 |
| Nationality | British |
| Classification | Ally |
William "Bill" Tanner is a fictional character in theJames Bondfilm andnovel series. Tanner is an employee of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) who acts asM'schief of staff.
InIan Fleming's novels, Bill Tanner isMI6's chief of staff. He appears infrequently in the novels, but is a regular character in the later continuation series byJohn Gardner.
Described as a brisk, dark-haired man, and a former officer in the "Sappers" (Royal Engineers) (at "nearly their maximum height of 5'6"), Tanner appears to be one ofJames Bond's only close friends in MI6; they lunch together occasionally, and he is generally sympathetic when Bond has been dressed down byM.
In 1965,Kingsley Amis wroteThe Book of Bond or Every Man His Own 007, a tongue-in-cheek manual for prospective secret agents, illustrated with examples from Fleming's novels. For this work, Amis used thepseudonym "Lt. Colonel William ('Bill') Tanner".
InThe Man with the Golden Gun, Bill Tanner (Michael Goodliffe) is only seen briefly in the film and is not mentioned by name until the end credits. He appears in M (Bernard Lee)'s office with M and Colthorpe (James Cossins), discussingFrancisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), who has sent a bullet to MI6 printed with Bond (Roger Moore)'s ID number. He explains Scaramanga's fingerprints on the bullet were verified by theCIA, and that Scaramanga is attempting to provoke a battle with MI6. This leads to Bond being sent to find Scaramanga.
InFor Your Eyes Only, Bill Tanner (now played byJames Villiers due to Michael Goodliffe's death in 1976) is given a bigger role, as Bernard Lee, who played M, had died.[2] Tanner is shown wearing anOld Wykehamist tie. He gives Bond his assignment (along withGeoffrey Keen's characterSir Fredrick Gray), which sends him to find Hector Gonzales (Stefan Kalipha). Bond is unable to get information from Gonzales later on because Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) kills him after Bond is captured. Tanner then gets upset at Bond for not getting any information and letting Melina murder Gonzales. Tanner is last seen at the end of the film, when he connects the Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher (Janet Brown) and Bond by phone. Unknown to Tanner and the Prime Minister, Bond is not there and it is merely a talking parrot that ends up "flirting" with the Prime Minister. InOctopussy, the role of M was recast with Robert Brown, so Tanner did not appear.[2]
InGoldenEye, Tanner (Michael Kitchen) is only briefly seen in the Situation Room when the GoldenEye weapon is set off. Tanner calls the new M (Judi Dench) "the Evil Queen of Numbers," unaware that she is right behind him. As Michael Kitchen was unable to reprise his role forTomorrow Never Dies, the character of Charles Robinson (Colin Salmon) was created in his stead.[2]
InThe World Is Not Enough, Tanner is seen at the Scotland MI6 building debriefing the agents on the murder of Sir Robert King (David Calder), father ofElektra King (Sophie Marceau). When Bond comes to the conclusion that the terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle) is behind the murder, Tanner is seen talking about what Renard can do or is planning to do. He is only seen again twice, when Elektra, the true mastermind of her father's murder, contacts M to draw her in to be kidnapped, and finally at the end of the film asR (John Cleese) is attempting to find Bond.
Tanner had never been considered a regular cinematic character until 2008'sQuantum of Solace where he was first played byRory Kinnear who reprised the role of Tanner inSkyfall,Spectre, andNo Time to Die.[3] Kinnear also voices Tanner and provides his likeness for the2010 remake of theGoldenEye game and the original gamesJames Bond 007: Blood Stone and007 Legends.