Joe Don Baker, the Texan actor who had two separate roles in three different James Bond movies as both a bad and a good guy has died at the age of 89, his family confirmed. His death occured on May 7, but is only being made public now. “As we say goodbye to Joe Don, we hold onto the memories and the love he shared with us. Though he may no longer be with us in body, his spirit will always remain, a guiding light in the lives he touched. Rest in peace, Joe Don. You will be dearly missed but never forgotten,” his obituary read.

The star played two roles over three movies in the James Bond franchise. He was the villain Brad Whitaker in 1987’s The Living Daylights which starred Timothy Dalton in the titular role. He then switched to the good guys playing CIA agent Jack Wade, in both 1995’s GoldenEye and 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies which starred Pierce Brosnan as the iconic spy. He is one of only three actors to portray both a Bond ally and a villain.

He also appeared in Tim Burton’s 1996 sci-fi classic Mars Attacks which saw him once again appear opposite Bond alumni Pierce Brosnan and also Tom Jones, who sang the Bond theme Thunderball for the film of the same name in 1965.

He got his start in 1972 when he starred as the younger, business-minded brother of an ageing Arizona rodeo rider played by Steve McQueen in Sam Peckinpah’s Junior Bonner. He then portrayed a sadistic mob hitman named Molly in Don Siegel’s 1973 film Charley Varrick, starring opposite Walter Matthau.

He won huge acclaim for his role in 1973’s Walking Tall playing a character called Buford Pusser, based on a real-life sheriff who cleaned up crime in his Tennessee town.

“In those days in the early ’70s, I think a lot of people wanted to take a stick to Nixon and all those Watergate guys,” he said in an interview from the mid-1990s. He added the film “touched a vigilante nerve in everybody who would like to do in the bad guys but don’t have the power and would get in trouble if [they] did. But Buford was able to pull it off.”

Other credits throughout his long career include the six-hour BBC miniseries Edge of Darkness, which saw him nominated for a BAFTA and other big screen outings in films such as Cape Fear (1991), Reality Bites (1994), The Grass Harp (1995), Mars Attacks! (1996), Joe Dirt (2001), The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) and Mud (2012).

Fans rushed to pay tribute upon hearing the news. “Another excellent character actor has left the stage. News just broke that Joe Don Baker passed away last week at 89. Our schools and training programs need to start turning out the kind of actors we once had like Baker. For my money, the so-called character actor is the true workhorse and MVP performer in film,” one wrote on Facebook.

“We’re very sad to hear of the passing of Joe Don Baker. He played two fantastic and vastly different characters in 3 Bond films – villain Brad Whittaker and ally Jack Wade. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” another penned

A third chimed in: “We won’t see his like again. Not in the age of Fortnite and tik tok.” Meanwhile a fourth shared: “Another member of the #GoldenEye and Bond family gone. RIP Joe Don Baker, who left us on May 7, 2025, aged 89. He added very good doses of humour to the film, particularly by being considerably different to Bond and not taking the job too seriously. #GoldenEye30.”