Datastream
Character: Rene Mathis
Movie: Casino Royale
Status: In Holding
Actor: Giancarlo Giannini
Date of Birth: 01/08/42
Height: 5' 8½"
Place of Birth: La Spezia, Italy

“Being dead doesn’t mean one still can’t be helpful…”

Pleased To Meet You
Bond and Vesper eat lunch with Mathis on their arrival in Montenegro. Over the meal, Mathis tells Bond about Le Chiffre’s arrival to the country, and how he quickly became very good friends with the local Chief of Police. Finally, Bond and Mathis watch as his officers arrest the Chief after a little Photoshop magic created false evidence against him.

Personality
Rene Mathis is a field-hardy operative in pay of the British Secret Service. Into his ‘60s, Mathis has seen the Cold War out and his fare share of action. Although he greets the couple warmly with his quick wit and a spark of adventure in his eye, very little is known of Mathis’ past.

However, Bond accuses Rene of treason and has him arrested when Le Chiffre informs him, “your Mathis is really… my Mathis.” The innocence or guilt of Rene Mathis is yet to be proven.

Biography
Born in La Spezia, Italy, Giancarlo Giannini studied and practiced electronics for 10 years, before enrolling in the Accademia Nazionale in Rome. In 1965 he appeared in “Fango sulla metropolis”, his first screen production. He went on to take minor roles in “Anzio” and “The Secret of Santa Vittoria” before landing the lead in “Swept Away” in 1974.

Giannini became known to the western world, not only for his acting talent, but also for his amazing bilingual skills – often used for dubbing popular Italian films into English, or visa versa.

Other achievements include, a 1976 Academy Award for his work in “Seven Beauties” and the role that shot him to International stardom: Inspector Pazzi in “Hannibal”.

As well as appearing on screen in over 100 films or television series, Giannini has dabbled in directing, writing and producing – most notably the 1987 film “Ternosecco” which he wrote and directed as well as starred in.