BRAYHAM, PETER

Contributed by: The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia by Steven Jay Rubin

(July 12, 1936–December 7, 2006): British stuntman/actor who portrayed Rhoda, the SPECTRE agent driving the Chevrolet stake truck in From Russia with Love. He stalls the truck on the railroad tracks to stop the Orient Express and provide an escape option for Grant (Robert Shaw). Having killed Grant in a vicious fight on the train, Bond (Sean Connery) surprises Rhoda, knocks him out, ties him up, and captures the truck.

Later, after he’s destroyed a SPECTRE helicopter, Bond arrives at the dock where Rhoda has tethered a motorboat. When Bond and Tania (Daniela Bianchi) head for Venice, Rhoda is untied and tossed into the water off Istria, where he cusses unintelligibly. It just wasn’t his day.

Born in England, Brayham made his acting debut as Rhoda, but he was known more for his forty-plus years as a stunt performer and coordinator, which began with The Guns of Navarone (1961) and included work on Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, and Live and Let Die. He was also the stunt arranger on Time Bandits (1981), in which he once again teamed with Sean Connery. His final credits were as a stunt coordinator for the BBC’s time-hopping police drama Life on Mars (2006–2007).

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