Richard Stamper: The Ruthless Enforcer of Tomorrow Never Dies
Richard Stamper serves as the trusted aide and security chief to media mogul, Elliot Carver, having previously being under the mentorship of Carver’s private hitman, Dr. Kaufman. This henchman, brought to life by the German actor, Götz Otto, is a key figure in the 1997 James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. The character undergoes a creative transformation in Raymond Benson’s subsequent novel adaptation, but still boasts the same ruthless attitude.
Richard Stamper
Richard Stamper is behind the GPS encoder that’s used for guiding the British HMS Devonshire into Chinese territory, which incites tension as two Chinese fighter jets threaten to strike if the intruding ship doesn’t vacate their territorial waters. Unaware of their true location, the British ship asserts their right to defend against any hostile activity.
As they wait for the fighter jets to fly overhead once more, Stamper prepares to launch a torpedo, aiming to make it appear as if the jets initiated the attack. Reporting to Elliot Carver in Hamburg, he informs him of the torpedo launch and sinking of the British ship.
Carver instructs him to identify any survivors and to ensure he uses the appropriate ammunition – Chinese rounds. Learning of surviving crew members in the water, Richard Stamper proceeds to the outer sections of the stealth boat and fires at them using the Chinese ammunition.
Later, at Carver’s satellite launch ceremony, Stamper encounters James Bond, who repeatedly insinuates Carver’s involvement in the Devonshire’s sinking. Sensing Bond as a potential threat, Carver leaves under a fabricated excuse and tasks Stamper with handling Bond.
Richard Stamper’s men then lead Bond into a back room under the guise of a phone call. As Bond enters, he’s instantly ambushed by Stamper’s henchmen. Bond swiftly neutralizes them before Stamper arrives and infiltrates the control room, shutting down the power and interrupting Carver’s presentation to a global audience.
Elliot Carver finds out about his wife, Paris and Bond having a connection and decides to have her killed and left in Bond’s room. Stamper stakes out from a nearby rooftop and observes as Bond drives into the hotel’s parking garage.
As Bond enters the hotel, Stamper’s men attempt to extract Gupta’s GPS encoder from Bond’s car. While they’re attempting this, Bond is held at gunpoint in his hotel room by Dr. Kaufman, who had just killed Paris Carver.
When Bond’s car proves too fortified to infiltrate, Richard Stamper contacts Dr. Kaufman to coerce Bond into revealing how to gain access. Seizing the opportunity, Bond tricks Dr. Kaufman into tasering himself with Bond’s phone and shoots the hitman.
Bond then goes back to get the car that Stamper and his henchmen couldn’t infiltrate, and he uses the cell phone controller to remotely steer the car, while the henchmen shoot at it. But Bond is able to get into the car and drive off to safety.
Later, as 007 and his Chinese counterpart Wai Lin explore the wreckage of the HMS Devonshire underwater, they discover a missing cruise missile. After swimming back to Wai Lin’s boat, Stamper is there with his men, who then apprehend Bond and Lin, and take them to Carver’s skyscraper in Saigon.
There, Carver greets the two agents while simultaneously drafting their obituaries. In a meeting with General Chang, Carver reveals that Stamper, Dr. Kaufman’s former protégé and almost a son to him, will employ Chakra torture on them. Stamper assures them that he’ll keep them alive as long as he can.
After Bond’s affront to Carver, the media mogul points to a particularly gruesome device, reserving it for the finale. However, before Stamper can begin, Bond and Wai Lin overpower the guard holding them and seize their machine guns.
In RIchard Stamper’s attempt to secure Carver’s safety, Bond grabs one of Stamper’s torture devices and impales Stamper’s leg, leaving him wounded and enraged.
Intent on inciting a war by striking the flagships of both the British and Chinese navies, Carver and his crew embark on the stealth ship and set course towards the fleet. Bond and Lin manage to board the ship, but Carver spots them through surveillance cameras and directs Stamper to confront them.
As Bond and Wai Lin rig explosives on the ship’s exterior, Stamper quickly captures Lin and leaves her with his men, instructing them to kill her if she moves. Believing he has killed Bond, Stamper then contacts Carver to report Bond’s supposed death.
Following this, Stamper brings Wai Lin to the bridge, where Carver anticipates the unfolding conflict. However, Bond damages the ship’s exterior hull, exposing it to the radar of the Chinese and British forces.
Enraged, Carver orders Stamper to kill Bond and Lin. As Stamper and Bond engage in a shootout, the ship sustains significant damage from British missiles. Being the last men standing, Carver sends Stamper to intercept Lin in the engine room.
Meanwhile, Bond confronts Carver at the bridge and kills him. But, as he attempts to disarm the missile, he hears Stamper’s voice demanding him to stop. Bond then sees that Stamper has shackled Lin and threatens to drown her. But Lin tosses her explosives to Bond, urging him to detonate the missile while it’s still aboard the stealth ship.
To thwart him, Stamper releases Lin and lunges at Bond, hellbent on exacting revenge for Carver and Kaufman by ensuring a painful demise for Bond. Following a struggle, Bond manages to pin Stamper’s leg to the missile, trapping him.
As Bond tries to leap into the water to escape the stealth ship and rescue Lin, Stamper grabs his jacket, declaring that they will die together. But Bond manages to slip out of his jacket and plunges into the water, leaving Stamper as the only man aboard.
When the missile detonates, the blast instantly incinerates Richard Stamper’s foot, and he succumbs to the ensuing ship explosion.
Götz Otto
Götz Otto, born on October 15, 1967, is a renowned German actor known for both film and television roles. He began his acting journey in 1992 with a role in the German comedy Little Sharks and quickly followed with more roles in German productions.
His breakthrough came in 1993 when he featured as an SS guard in Spielberg’s highly acclaimed film, Schindler’s List. Otto’s career peaked in 1997 when he was cast as Richard Stamper, a henchman in the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, winning him critical acclaim and a fan base among Bond enthusiasts.
Otto’s portfolio includes roles in notable films like Downfall (2004), Alien Autopsy (2006), and Iron Sky (2012). Besides acting, Otto pursued race car driving, participating in the German Mini Challenge VIP car at Oschersleben in 2007 and again in 2008.
