Robert John Davi (born June 26, 1951) is an American actor, producer, director, screenwriter and jazz singer.[1] He has played such roles as Vietnam veteran and Special Agent Johnson in Die Hard (1988) (with Grand L. Bush and Andreas Wisniewski), the villainous Jake Fratelli in The Goonies (1985), Robert Masterson in The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991), The Mask and Al Torres in Showgirls (1995). However, Davi is perhaps best known for playing the main villain and drug lord Franz Sanchez in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill as well as FBI Special Agent Bailey Malone in the NBC television series Profiler. Classically trained as a singer, Davi launched his professional singing career in 2011 performing Frank Sinatra classics.
Career[]
Robert Davi appeared in a wide variety of films and television. His film credits include The Goonies (1985), Raw Deal (1986), Predator 2 (1990) and Showgirls (1995). One of his more recent film role was The Expendables 3 (2014).
His television appearances included The A-Team, Wiseguy, The Pretender (as Agent Bailey Malone during two crossovers with Profiler), Stargate Atlantis and Criminal Minds.
Davi also appeared in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as the voice of Colonel Juan Garcia Cortez. He also voiced Alejandro Sosa in the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006).
Bond involvement[]
Robert Davi was cast as Sanchez following a suggestion by Albert R. Broccoli's daughter Tina,[2] and screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who had seen Davi in the television film Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami. To portray Sanchez, Davi researched the Colombian drug cartels and how to do a Colombian accent,[3] and since he was method acting, he would stay in character off-set. After Davi read Casino Royale for preparation, he decided to turn Sanchez into a "mirror image" of James Bond, based on Ian Fleming's descriptions of Le Chiffre.[2] The actor also learned scuba diving for the scene where Sanchez is rescued from the sunken armored car.[3] Davi also helped with the casting of Sanchez's mistress Lupe Lamora, by playing Bond in the audition. Talisa Soto was picked from twelve candidates because Davi said he "would kill for her".[2]
Robert Davi's likeness as Sanchez was later used in the 2012 video game, 007 Legends.
External Links[]
- Robert Davi at the Internet Movie Database.
- Robert Davi on Wikipedia
References[]
- ↑ Paul, Louis (2007). Tales from the Cult Film Trenches. McFarland & Company, 53. ISBN 978-0-7864-2994-3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 (1999). Inside Licence to Kill [DVD]. Licence to Kill: Ultimate Edition: MGM.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Robert Davi. (1999). Audio commentary [DVD]. Licence to Kill: Ultimate Edition: MGM.