It occurred to me the other day that Julian Glover is a villain in everything. Not only as he appeared as the maniacal villain several times (which isn’t too weird, as a few actors make a living out of playing just bad guys), but he has been pitted against several childhood heroes. With a bit of digging, you can find him dotted around several major points in pop culture. Today, I thought I would pull out four of his more famous movies. Some may surprise you.
4 – INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
OK, this one isn’t too much of a surprise. He plays the big bad guy here, the mentor of Indiana who turns around and betrays him for the chance of uncovering the Holy Grail. It is a great performance, perhaps making him the most memorable of all of the Indiana Jones villains, seeing as Cate Blanchett was let down by a devastatingly poor movie. He is the typical smart villain, dressed in an impeccable suit and driven by blind greed.
Never trust a guy with a bow tie. Fatal error, Indy!
Where is he now? I’ve already touched on the terrifying gruesome death of this character. It was a horrific end for a horrific character, an element that Indiana Jones never fails to touch on. If you are going to hunting in tombs, you must be prepare to face a nasty end.
3 – JAMES BOND – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Glover, like Sean Bean, is another actor who went for the role of Bond, lost out and decided to have a shot at playing the villain instead. It’s a shame that Julian Glover’s Bond villain never really stood the test of time. It’s not the actor’s fault. Once again, Kristatos is the elegant, charming villain we have come to associate with most Bond villains. It is a messy script and forgettable characters that makes ‘For Your Eyes Only’ crumble in on itself.
Where is he now? Unusually Kristatos survives the movie, getting arrested rather than killed. I can see what the director was going for here, but when we are watching a Bond, you can never let tone sacrifice fun. For Your Eyes Only has an underwhelming conclusion and Glover deserved a better film to work with.
2 – THE REBEL ALLIANCE – STAR WARS: EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Yes, Glover is a Star Wars villain and, actually, a damn good one too. The film races along so fast that you may struggle to remember him. Glover played General Maxmillion Veers, the pilot of the deadly AT-AT walker. He was the Imperial soldier that actually managed to land the winning strike on the Rebel base, making him a war hero for the bad guys. He is another ‘blink and you’ll miss him’ character that has a little cult following somewhere in the fan universe. In honesty, some may think that is better than being a major character.
He always made sure his men wore an even sillier helmet than his.
Where is he now? Again, Veers survived this movie. It is implied that he died, although it is never shown. When he messages Vader his mission is complete, he is never shown again. At the same time, all of the AT-AT walkers end up destroyed, so it is assumed that he is killed in action, However, unhappy with this ending for a cult figure, the expanded universe wrote him back to life, saying that he survived the attack and lived on as a war hero for the Empire.
1 – HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
And this is where even I was shocked. Glover is not in Harry Potter. The rogue gallery is packed full of bad guys from Ralph Fiennes to Jason Isaacs, but Julian Glover definitely is not a part of the franchise.
Aha, I see the likeness.
Guess again. Glover actually goes the voice to the spider in the woods, Aragog. It is a clever little cameo, as hardly anyone thought to check the identity of the raspy voiced spider, assuming it was just a member of the camera crew, with illusions of being an actor. But nope, Glover, along with every actor in Britain, managed to get into the Potter universe and claim his own space in it.
Where is he now? Aragog survives the movie, although in the sixth Potter book, the character is written off. He dies of old age, off-screen, so Glover was not needed to come back for a voiceover. It is a shame, because I always wanted Aragog to make a comeback.
Oracle of Film 