Chosen for the role of General Gogol in the James Bond movies of the 1970s and 80s because he was a look-alike of the former head of Soviet secret police, Lavrenti Beria.
With a total of 7, he has the most appearances in the official Bond movies as a non- or part-time ally of James Bond and is the only one to star alongside three different Bond actors, namely Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton.