--- name: "Joseph Wiseman" canonical: "https://film.one/person/joseph-wiseman" roles: ["Actor"] born: "15 May 1918" died: "19 October 2009" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-18T10:58:12.933019+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Joseph Wiseman Actor. Born 15 May 1918 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Died 19 October 2009. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 15 May 1918, Montreal, Quebec, Canada - **Died:** 19 October 2009 - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Wiseman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q448271, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0936476/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9872 ## Fi1m on Joseph Wiseman > A stage actor with a reputation for unsettling audiences from across a theatre, Joseph Wiseman is remembered for one late, quiet entrance in metal hands. The stillness that made Dr. No work was his whole method, and the screen found too few uses for it. Dr. No does not shout. He arrives late in the film that carries his name, sits Bond down to dinner, and talks to him the way a tutor talks to a clever student who has been careless. The hands are metal, the jacket is white, and the voice never rises. In a series that would come to enjoy villains who bellow, Wiseman gave the first one almost nothing to do with his face and let the quiet carry it. We said in our review of *Dr. No* (1962) that he was the better for keeping his voice down, and that holds. He came from the stage and preferred it there. He made his Broadway debut in 1938 in *Abe Lincoln in Illinois* and stayed in the theatre through the 1940s and 1950s, until William Wyler filmed *Detective Story* in 1951 and had him repeat his stage part, Charley Gennini, a highly strung criminal. Fernando, the betrayer in Elia Kazan's *Viva Zapata* (1952), followed, opposite Marlon Brando, and then Abe Kelsey, the one-eyed evangelist in John Huston's *The Unforgiven* (1960). It was *Detective Story* that got him the Bond part. By 1969 he was back on stage as J. Robert Oppenheimer, and he went on working in film and television into the 1990s. The pattern is plain. He was cast again and again as men who were intense, off-beat or plainly unwell, and he played them cold, in a level voice, with as little movement as he could get away with. He had a reputation as the most unsettling actor on the American stage, and you can see why in the dinner scene of *Dr. No*. On our most recent viewing we were more disturbed by his good manners at that table than by anything the henchmen do, because Wiseman plays a man who has already decided how the evening ends and sees no reason to raise his voice about it. Later Bond villains learned the monotone from him. Few learned the patience. The role's problem was never his acting. A white actor in make-up as a half-Chinese villain was something the film did without a thought, and we noticed; it sits over the performance now and will not lift. Wiseman himself was unsure about the whole thing, took it believing it "might be just another Grade-B Charlie Chan mystery", and then spent the rest of his life being asked about it instead of about the theatre he cared for. The cinema never found him a second part of that size. That is its loss more than his. ## Biography Joseph Wiseman (15 May 1918 – 19 October 2009) was a Canadian-born American actor of stage and screen. Born in Montreal, he moved to New York as a child and began performing in summer stock at the age of 16. He made his Broadway debut in 1938 in *Abe Lincoln in Illinois* and appeared in numerous productions over the following decades, including *Detective Story*, *Antony and Cleopatra*, *Incident at Vichy* and *In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer*. Wiseman's film roles included *Detective Story* (1951), *Viva Zapata!* (1952) and *The Unforgiven* (1960). He is best known for playing the title character in the first James Bond film, *Dr. No* (1962). His television credits include a recurring role as Manny Weisbord in *Crime Story* (1986–1988) and guest appearances in series such as *The Twilight Zone*, *MacGyver* and *Law & Order*. His final Broadway appearance was in *Judgment at Nuremberg* in 2001. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, latimes.com, washingtonpost.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Dr. No* (1962), Fi1m 77, as Dr. No — [page](https://film.one/film/dr-no.md) ## Complete filmography (76) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Seymour Bergreen — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *Lady Mobster* (1988), as Victor Castle - *Crime Story* (1986), series, as Manny Weisbord - *Crime Story: Pilot* (1986), as Manny Weisbord - *L.A. Law* (1986), series, as Isidore Schoen - *Seize the Day* (1986), as Dr. Adler - *MacGyver* (1985), series, as Joe Catano - *The Equalizer* (1985), series, as Eddie Vanessi - *The Ghost Writer* (1983), as Judge Wapter - *Rage of Angels* (1983), series, as Antonio Granelli - *The A-Team* (1983), series, as Zeke Westerland - *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Judge Wapter - *Masada* (1981), series, as Jerahmeel, Head Essene - *The Greatest American Hero* (1981), series, as James J. Beck - *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, as Albert Tessa - *Freebie and the Bean* (1980), series, Acting - *Buck Rogers in the 25th Century* (1979), series, as Carl Morphus - *Jaguar Lives!* (1979), as Ben Ashir - *Buck Rogers in the 25th Century* (1979), as Draco - *The Betsy* (1978), as Jake Weinstein - *Homage to Chagall: The Colours of Love* (1977), as Narrator (voice) - English version - *Murder at the World Series* (1977), as Sam Druckman - *Journey into Fear* (1975), as Colonel Haki - *Zalmen, or The Madness of God* (1975), as Rabbi - *The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz* (1974), as Uncle Benjy - *Men of the Dragon* (1974), as Balashev - *The Magician* (1973), series, as Hon Chi Kai - *Nightside* (1973), as Grudin - *The Suicide Club* (1973), as Mr. Silverado - *Pursuit* (1972), as Dr. Nordman - *The Streets of San Francisco* (1972), series, as Barbado - *The Valachi Papers* (1972), as Salvatore Maranzano - *Lawman* (1971), as Lucas - *Night Gallery* (1970), series, as Jacob Bauman (segment "Room with a View") - *The Mask of Sheba* (1970), as Fandil Bondalok - *McCloud* (1970), series, Acting - *Stiletto* (1969), as Emilio Matteo - *The Night They Raided Minsky's* (1968), as Louis Minsky - *The Counterfeit Killer* (1968), as Rajeski - *Bye Bye Braverman* (1968), as Felix Ottensteen - *The Outsider* (1967), as Ernest Grimes - *Coronet Blue* (1967), series, as Rudi Nateseh - *The F.B.I.* (1965), series, as Big Julio, Mr. Gilford - *The Legend of Jesse James* (1965), series, as Captain Hammel - *Dr. No* (1962), as Dr. No — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/dr-no.md) - *The Happy Thieves* (1961), as Jean Marie Calbert - *The New Breed* (1961), series, as Clayton Grimes - *Festival* (1960), series, as Messenger, Prisoner - *The Westerner* (1960), series, as 'Serafin' - *The Unforgiven* (1960), as Abe Kelsey - *The Untouchables* (1959), series, as Albert Maris, Russell Shield - *Adventures in Paradise* (1959), series, as Torok - *The Twilight Zone* (1959), series, as Paul Radin — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md) - *Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse* (1958), series, Acting - *Shirley Temple's Storybook* (1958), series, as Sorceror, Lurgan - *Suspicion* (1957), series, Acting - *Wagon Train* (1957), series, as Jim Case - *The Garment Jungle* (1957), as George Kovan - *Three Brave Men* (1956), as Jim Barron - *On Trial* (1956), series, as Antonio - *Matinee Theater* (1955), series, Acting - *The Prodigal* (1955), as Carmish - *The Silver Chalice* (1954), as Mijamin - *Studio 57* (1954), series, Acting - *Inner Sanctum* (1954), series, Acting - *Kraft Television Theatre* (1953), series, Acting - *Letter to Loretta* (1953), series, as Dr. Newland - *Champ for a Day* (1953), as Dominic Guido - *General Electric Theater* (1953), series, as Manson - *Les Miserables* (1952), as Genflou - *Viva Zapata!* (1952), as Fernando - *Detective Story* (1951), as Charley Gennini - *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, as Max Gebler - *Tales of Tomorrow* (1951), series, Acting - *With These Hands* (1950), as Mike Deleo - *Suspense* (1949), series, Acting ## Gallery - ![Joseph Wiseman](https://film.one/media/person/1025224/gallery-b7020e23acd4.jpg) Joseph Wiseman — Kate O'Brien, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Joseph_Wiseman_1950.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Joseph Wiseman](https://film.one/media/person/1025224/gallery-ee5d01018b0c.jpg) Joseph Wiseman — Image via TMDB - ![Joseph Wiseman](https://film.one/media/person/1025224/gallery-11f085c23393.jpg) Joseph Wiseman — Image via TMDB - ![Joseph Wiseman](https://film.one/media/person/1025224/gallery-e9be449350fe.jpg) Joseph Wiseman — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joseph-wiseman