Prior to the Daniel Craig <\/strong>era of the franchise, the James Bond films rarely featured supporting characters that appeared in multiple installations. While staples of the series like M, Q, and Moneypenny would usually show up, they generally did not fulfill any role beyond delivering Bond expositional dialogue. The Craig films were unique in their consideration of a larger world of assassins, spies, and villains. As a result, the Bond universe felt more expansive.<\/p>\n However, the Pierce Brosnan <\/strong>era of the series did seek to have some connective tissue between the films, largely due to the new version of M played by Judi Dench<\/strong>. 1995’s GoldenEye <\/em><\/strong>introduced the late great Robbie Coltrane <\/strong>as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky, a former KGB agent that joins the Russian mafia. When Bond approaches Zukovsky for help, the morally dubious gangster notes that he’s still upset about their previous encounter. Zukovsky reveals that when they last crossed paths, Bond shot him in the leg and \u201cstole his girl.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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