Character information
Name(s):	Henry Gupta
Born:	Unknown United States
Died:	April 1997 South China Sea
Hair/eye color:	Brown (Eyes), Black (Hair)
Height/weight:	5'5" (Height), -- (Weight)
Nationality:	American
Occupation:	"Techno-terrorist"
Affiliation:	Elliot Carver
Status:	Deceased, shot by Elliot Carver
Behind the scenes
Role:	Henchman
Portrayed By:	Richard Jay Potash (Ricky Jay)
First Appearance:	Tomorrow Never Dies (Film)
Last Appearance:	Tomorrow Never Dies (Film)

Henry Gupta is an American "techno-terrorist" in the employ of media baron Elliot Carver. He appears in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and was portrayed by American stage magician, actor, and writer Ricky Jay.

Film biography

Intent on starting a war between the United Kingdom and China, Elliot Carver sends Henry Gupta to a terrorist arms bazaar to purchase an American military GPS encoder. Using this device, Gupta meacons the GPS signal and sends the British frigate HMS Devonshire off-course into Chinese-held waters in the South China Sea, where Carver's stealth ship sinks the frigate with a sea drill and steals one of its missiles. Afterwards, his men shoot down a Chinese J-7 fighter jet sent to investigate the British presence, and kill the Devonshire's survivors with Chinese weaponry. After the Devonshire is sunk, Gupta is informed by Stamper that Phase 1 is complete. Near the end of the film, Bond sneaks aboard Carver's stealth ship and takes Gupta hostage. After a brief discussion with Bond about his plans, Carver asks Gupta if the missile is ready to fire. When Gupta says it is, Carver remarks, "Then it seems you've outlived your contract", and shoots Gupta, killing him.

Behind the scenes

Bruce Feirstein said he named this character after a Gupta Bakery, which he passed on the way to the studios.^[1]

Trivia

In a deleted scene, Gupta throws some playing cards at a wall and they stick to it, which shows Gupta can partly fight. In another deleted scene when Bond was shooting up the place, Gupta tries to throw a card at Bond, but missed and hits a henchman instead.

References