Mark Cerulli interviews Karl Held - CIA Agent in Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

By: Mark Cerulli

Published:
2025-02-04

Karl Held, CIA agent, Diamonds Are Forever, interview

It’s been said that only 2% of actors can successfully make a living at it while the other 98% struggle. American actor Karl Held, now a robust 93, is a happy exception.

“From the time I was a little kid, I was in plays and onstage, but I never thought of going into acting.” A math and science whiz, Karl Held seemed slated for a quiet career in a laboratory, but he loved performing and the recognition that came with it – especially from his parents. While serving in the Korean War he met other young Americans who talked about literature and philosophy and Karl realized he was missing out. One night he was watching Ronald Coleman in a film called Random Harvest and I thought “I can do that.” So, he did!

After his military service, Karl enrolled in Penn State’s theater department. He became a New York actor and began landing roles including as William Shatner’s understudy in The World of Suzie Wong on Broadway. (He also met his wife, actress Sarah Marshall, on that show.) His agent suggested he give Hollywood a try, so he headed West, staying with Stewart Stern, the screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause and The Ugly American. He began landing jobs on shows like The Outer Limits, Flipper, Daktari, Perry Mason and Star Trek, meeting with the legendary Gene Rodenberry, who remembered him from a previous role that he had co-written. “There were lots of parts going... you’d go in and audition and chat with the casting people. Nothing like it is today.”

Karl Held, Diamonds Are Forever, CIA Agent

Karl Held, Diamonds Are Forever, CIA Agent

A 1960s Studio Portrait of actor Karl Held.. Copyright © XXX. All rights reserved.

You’d think that doing an episode of the original Star Trek, he and Shatner would have had a nice reunion, but no... “I was the same type as Shatner – I was his understudy, for heaven’s sake!” So, in the odd way of Hollywood, they were in competition, even in the same episode. In fact, although he had a lengthy dialogue exchange with Shatner at the episode’s climax, “You never see me. You only see Shatner.”

Hollywood in the 1960s was still under the old studio system and Karl landed one of the last “contract player” gigs at Warner Bros, appearing in many of their productions. He also came achingly close to TV stardom, recalling, “I had done a couple of pilots where I co-starred, we had a sponsor and a time slot and then the plug got pulled at the last minute.” Being so-close only to have an anonymous suit decide otherwise was too much and Karl decided he needed a change of scenery. Having already done New York, his wife who was British said, “How about London?” They went for a year and stayed for twelve!

“In London you can do plays, movies, television, it’s all in one place,” Karl explains. It was during this period that his agent sent him out to Pinewood Studios to play an American CIA agent in Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

It was a small, uncredited part, but the job left a lasting impression. “I got to meet Sean Connery, who was easygoing, no ego issues whatsoever.” He also spent time in the Whyte House Penthouse where Blofeld impersonated the fictional Willard Whyte. “I was impressed by the set. It was great; it took up the entire soundstage.”

When asked what it’s like to be part of a Bond film he reminisced about seeing Dr. No (1962) when it came out and knowing Joseph Wiseman from NY acting circles. “I thought, ‘How great he’s getting a big lead in a film.’” He also knew the so-called “Rent a Yanks”, Shane Rimmer and Ed Bishop, part of London’s small American ex-pat acting community. “Eddie and I went up for the same parts a few times.” Ironically, all of them had roles in Diamonds. He was also close to Martin Landau and his wife, Barbara Bain from his work on Space 1999, which was also shot at Pinewood. “Marty was just a great, great guy,” Karl recalls fondly.

Diamonds was just a couple of days work in a long and highly successful career. Five decades later, details are a bit hazy – “I came in, we shot it and I was out of there in no time” -- but Karl enjoyed the experience. “It felt great hanging out with the Big Boys... I’d be on the phone calling my parents saying, ‘You won’t believe who I just met.’”

Mark Cerulli, Karl Held, From Sweden with Love

Mark Cerulli, Karl Held, From Sweden with Love

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Mark Cerulli interviews Karl Held - CIA Agent in Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

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