| Mr. White | |
|---|---|
| Character from the James Bond franchise | |
| Occupation | Senior Quantum agent |
| Affiliation | Quantum |
| Portrayed by | Jesper Christensen |
Mr. White is a fictional character and antagonist played by Jesper Christensen in the James Bond films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
He is a middleman of a terrorist organisation called Quantum which plays the same role fulfilled by SMERSH in Ian Fleming's original novel.
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Mr. White is first seen as an intermediary between Quantum and LRA commander Steven Obanno. White introduces Obanno to Le Chiffre, and arranges for Le Chiffre to bank $101,206,000 for Obanno. Le Chiffre loses this money, due to Bond's intervention, and plans to cover the loss by winning up to $150 million at the Casino Royale tournament, hoping to do so before Mr. White and Obanno discover he has lost the funds. It is also presumed that Mr. White and Obanno are not notified of the casino tournament.
While Obanno is enraged over the loss of money, White is more concerned that Quantum's reputation has been damaged because a contractor betrayed their trust. When White learns that Obanno, sent by Mr White to extort Le Chiffre, was killed by Bond, and Le Chiffre has lost the poker game and failed to gain back the money, White finally loses his temper.
As a result Mr. White storms Le Chiffre's boathouse, where he murders Le Chiffre's gang. When confronted by White, Le Chiffre reassures him that he will "Get the money. Tell them [Quantum superiors] I'll get the money." Mr. White responds, "Money is not as valuable to our organization as knowing who to trust." He then personally kills Le Chiffre by shooting him in the forehead with a silenced SIG P226. This also spares Bond from further torture at Le Chiffre's hands; unwilling double agent Vesper Lynd made a deal with Mr. White's organization to spare Bond in return for the $150 million.
In Venice, while Quantum's thugs kidnap Vesper and battle Bond, an unnoticed Mr. White retrieves the money. With Vesper's suicide, it appears that the money and MI6's attempted trace to Mr. White's organization is gone, but Vesper leaves Bond the number for Mr. White on her cell phone.
In the final scene of Casino Royale, Bond traces Mr. White to his villa along Lake Como and shoots him in the lower thigh with a suppressed HK UMP9.
At the opening of Quantum of Solace Mr. White's men pursue Bond in a car chase around Siena in attempt to retrieve their kidnapped boss. Bond manages to shake them off and brings Mr. White for interrogation by M. During the interrogation, Mr. White expresses regret that Vesper's suicide prevented his organization from attaining Bond as an operative, and also mocks M and tells her that his organization has operatives infiltrated everywhere. At this point, Craig Mitchell, a senior MI6 agent sitting in, draws his weapon and shoots the guard agent present. M and Bond dive for cover and Mitchell escapes. Bond pursues Mitchell and kills him while M heads for safety. In the confusion, Mr. White escapes.
Later, Mr. White is seen at an opera performance in Bregenz with the other Quantum members, when Bond takes an earpiece hidden inside a gift bag at the opera performance from a Quantum member, Bond hijacks the signal and takes pictures of a few Quantum leaders who leave the performance. Unlike his colleagues, White recognizes the danger of being identified, and stays hidden in the crowd.
At the end of Quantum of Solace, Mr. White is still at large, making him the first recurring villain since Jaws and Ernst Stavro Blofeld three decades earlier. It has been rumoured by the EON Productions producers and star Daniel Craig that they would like to film in New York for Skyfall and that they believe Quantum and Mr. White could make a return in that film.
Though unused in the final cut of Quantum of Solace, a scene was shot where Bond arrived at the estate of Guy Haines, an advisor to the Prime Minister and Mr. White's superior in the Quantum organization. In this scene, Bond killed Mr. White and began to question Haines about Quantum; instead the producers chose to use the traditional gun barrel sequence at the end of the film instead of this scene. It is possible that this sequence will be used again in Skyfall. In 2010, Jesper Christensen said he will not return as Mr. White in any future Bond films.[1]
The final scene at the end of the Quantum of Solace video game shows Bond arriving outside Haines' estate. Inside Haines and Mr. White are shown to have access to the MI6 computer and its information regarding Quantum.