Interesting he was hesitant to accept the role. The entire time he was on screen in The Wrath of Khan, I never saw the Cordoba salesman or the guy from Fantasy Island, I saw Khan!
Mr. Montalban sells himself a bit short at the end, a bit too modest. It was his skill as an actor and his immensely captivating presence that made Khan so memorable. A whole generation who knew nothing of his decades at the craft will forever remember the image he created in Khan.
Love how Ricardo is describing the mental process of reclaiming the original character from the series and then projecting it forward through the new story and concept. But how - in the end, he's not going on about himself so much, but giving so much of the credit for his portrayal to Nicholas Meyer. How Meyer kept him right at the edge but didn't let him go too far over the top. Ricardo Montalban - a class act from start to finish. A true gentleman.
The Enterprise's most powerful nemesis, Khan, was played by Montalban like a Stradivarius. He was a bad ass in TOS, and in the movie he simply eats up the entire screen. Kirk looks small compared to Khan, and the acting rivalry, two of TV and film's most dramatic actors, Shatner and Montalban, go at it. It's one of the most memorable performances for either actor. They brought out the best in each other. Incredible. Montalban was right though, even when he wasn't on the screen, they were talking about him the entire time, which just etched Khan into your brain during the entire movie. Great film.
This is why I can't accept that other guy as fake-Khan, Ricardo really sold the role here and put his everything into it. He was a truly great villain, a great adversary for Captain Kirk, and it was his performance that really made Star Trek II such a great film.
The naked chest was his, and he worked out fervently to be in such exceptional shape for the movie. He also had back pain to the point that he could barely walk during the filming of the wraith of Khan. To me it makes his performance so much the more memorable, and what a professional, excellent actor.
the wrath of khan for me was the best of all trek movies, it hits an emotional chord with both the intense music and drama, especially ricardo's role in the movie and he brought to the khan character will never be another like him.
De Montalban's devotion to his artistry, in asking for a "print" (copy on film?) of the ST:TOS episode "Space Seed.", was key, IMO, to the success of Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan. His ability to reconnect with the persona of Khan made a continuity from that episode to the movie, that made it so believable for the audience. Khan's character made the movie a great success. De Montalban's skill made it seem like Khan had really fixated on that day when Kirk marooned them in the Ceti system, so that, like the fans, he was merely picking up where that episode had left off. Brilliant.
Ricardo and Khan. Take Ricardo out of that role, you take Khan out of it. Nobody could have mixed the raw passion, savagery and power with the perfect blend of intelligence as well as Ricardo did with Khan.
khan was a truly beleivable villain. charming, passionate, intelligent and very cold blooded. A true movie psychopath. In a lesser talented actor he would have been dire. ricardo created a real movie icon who will always be rememberd. ' I'll chase him around the moons of nibia, around the antaris maelstrom, and round perditions flames before i give him up!'. a class act.
In my opinion Ricardo did a MUCH better job with Khan than Benedict Cumberbatch. Then again it was JarJar Abrams failed attempt to "remake" Wrath of Kahn with Into Darkness
Kahn is one of the all-time great archetypal villains: hard, ruthless, sophisticated, driven, capable, totally menacing. Montalban nailed it. They blew it with Cumberbatch.
Mr. Cumberbatch is a fine actor and I enjoyed his performance but it wasn't Khan. Khan was a powerful and passionate man. I don't see Cumberbatch's Khan display the kind of leadership that get people to follow him. Mr. Montalban, you nailed it.
He was brilliant as Khan. Too bad we couldn't see more of his version of the character. Instead he showed up in the kitchy soap 'Dynasty'. What a waste of this great actor's talent. RIP Ricardo. Vaya con dios.
Khan was an extremely complicated character, far more than just a simple villain with a painful story behind him. Many of the best villains are such complex characters and Ricardo's performance - the way he just understood what this man was going through - just made the movie.
A great family and a great man. I miss him very much. As much as he enjoyed acting on television, I believe he loved how so many people admired his work in "Wrath of Khan."
Thank you. The J.J. Abrams films made me a Star Trek fan, so I have more affinity for them than old-school Trek, but Ricardo Montalban owned the role of Khan and always will. Cumberbatch is a brilliant actor and his take on the character was very compelling, but that doesn't take anything away from Montalban's performance.
It's so refreshing to see a talented actor give credit to good direction for his performance. Any great film performance is a collaboration between actor and director. Just as Ricardo said, it's too easy to go too far into ridiculous overacting. A good director will step in and say, "That's a bit too much." R.I.P. Ricardo Montalban. You are missed.
An excellent actor. I was a fan of his long before he reprised the role of Khan. I first saw him in the movie Battleground, then the movie Mystery Street. He played a police lieutenant, which is no big deal now, but in 1950? Man, that was a BIG deal, to have a man of his ethnicity playing a lead role like that. A very underrated actor. As a side note, that was all him in The Wrath of Khan. He was in AMAZING shape. Kind of gives me hope as I sweat my ass off in the gym on the torture rack, aka, the arc trainer, lol.
I always though and have said it more than once, I think Ricardo should have received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Khan in "Wrath".
Ricardo has won the Lifetime Achievement award...twice. Sharks have a week dedicated to him. A bird in HIS hand is worth three in the bush. He is...the most interesting Khan in the world. If he could have lived long enough to have uttered the line "Stay thirsty, my friend", our timeline would simply have ceased to exist.
Very true about realism; too many people want more realism. While characters like Khan are over the top, they are unforgettable and much loved or much loved to be hated.
It's a heck of an acting challenge. Khan was a dictator of hitler/Stalin dimension. But McCoy said he always had a certain fondness for the Khan of history-because he tried to use his power to better his people's lives. Tat makes him a beneficent tyrant-with a sense of humor. Charismatic is shorthand for what Khan was. To quote Dr. Mengele:"if HE had chosen YOU, You too would have followed him !"There's nothing tougher than playing an attractive villain.
One type of actor reads a script & immediately asks how it serves them? The other,rarer type of actor,reads a script & asks how do they serve the script? The terrific Ricardo Montalban was the latter.
That's right, there is only one Khan, JJ Abrams, you didn't need to replay the character! Let the triumphant performance by the brilliant Ricardo Montalban rest in peace in the Star Trek archives and develop new exciting plot lines!
@kaittainCBS I could not agree more! I don't understand why there is this current movement in cinema that is obsessed with 'realism'???!!! I don't get it.. When did 'realism' equal better drama, narrative or character development? Art is reflection of reality but it's a GRAND ILLUSION. There is nothing wrong with melodrama in films. I suspect this crap about 'realism' started with guys like Chris Nolan, who himself is GROSSLY overrated! The classic Star Trek melodrama is a part of what makes these films and the TV series so great. Not to mention, imagine a world where the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films were made with a blind affinity for 'realism'....ugh
In the dvd extras of the movie, he says all his parts were played to a blank screen...he never played to William Shatner directly. All their parts were shot at different times.
I'll admit that the new films are more energetic and raw than the older ones, but in the eyes of almost every critic who reviewed the latest film, Cumberbatch's acting was what made Into Darkness a great film. Cumberbatch may be no Ricardo Montalban, but I dare say he definitely did well as Khan.
I think Montalban has it exactly right. Khan NEEDED to be an over-the-top, overdramatic character. He isn't realistic, but sometimes realism is the wrong choice. Sometimes theatrical, melodramatic characters are perfect for a story. This was definitely one such case. To some extent, the same is true of Shatner/Kirk. People often mock Shatner for his theatrical delivery as Kirk, but without that delivery Star Trek would not have been nearly as good, and certainly not as entertaining.
Maybe its because Kahn for Trek fans is one of THE iconic characters, having been resurected from the orignial series, and becoming a major lynchpin for the films. No Khan, no death of Spock, no Genesis planet, no death of Enterprise, etc...
Publicly he would endorse Benedict Cumberbatch in the role because he was a man of class, but privately I think he would not like it very much, as us TrueTrekkers don't.
Ricardo...rest in peace....you were the best villian on Star Trek...period.
Interesting he was hesitant to accept the role. The entire time he was on screen in The Wrath of Khan, I never saw the Cordoba salesman or the guy from Fantasy Island, I saw Khan!
Mr. Montalban sells himself a bit short at the end, a bit too modest. It was his skill as an actor and his immensely captivating presence that made Khan so memorable. A whole generation who knew nothing of his decades at the craft will forever remember the image he created in Khan.
I have said for over 30 years that he deserved at least an Oscar nomination for the performance
A great actor who breathed life into a truly memorable character.
Love how Ricardo is describing the mental process of reclaiming the original character from the series and then projecting it forward through the new story and concept.
But how - in the end, he's not going on about himself so much, but giving so much of the credit for his portrayal to Nicholas Meyer. How Meyer kept him right at the edge but didn't let him go too far over the top.
Ricardo Montalban - a class act from start to finish. A true gentleman.
I bet that chair is upholstered with rich corinthian leather
The Enterprise's most powerful nemesis, Khan, was played by Montalban like a Stradivarius. He was a bad ass in TOS, and in the movie he simply eats up the entire screen. Kirk looks small compared to Khan, and the acting rivalry, two of TV and film's most dramatic actors, Shatner and Montalban, go at it. It's one of the most memorable performances for either actor. They brought out the best in each other. Incredible. Montalban was right though, even when he wasn't on the screen, they were talking about him the entire time, which just etched Khan into your brain during the entire movie. Great film.
This is why I can't accept that other guy as fake-Khan, Ricardo really sold the role here and put his everything into it. He was a truly great villain, a great adversary for Captain Kirk, and it was his performance that really made Star Trek II such a great film.
The naked chest was his, and he worked out fervently to be in such exceptional shape for the movie. He also had back pain to the point that he could barely walk during the filming of the wraith of Khan. To me it makes his performance so much the more memorable, and what a professional, excellent actor.
Maltalban is Khan. No one else can hope to be.
They never could have made it without you, Ricardo.
" I deprived your ship of power and when I come about I mean to deprive you of your life."
Nice to hear an actor who has passion & respect for their role and did not disregard the work of others in the building of the character.
the wrath of khan for me was the best of all trek movies, it hits an emotional chord with both the intense music and drama, especially ricardo's role in the movie and he brought to the khan character will never be another like him.
De Montalban's devotion to his artistry, in asking for a "print" (copy on film?) of the ST:TOS episode "Space Seed.", was key, IMO, to the success of Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan. His ability to reconnect with the persona of Khan made a continuity from that episode to the movie, that made it so believable for the audience. Khan's character made the movie a great success. De Montalban's skill made it seem like Khan had really fixated on that day when Kirk marooned them in the Ceti system, so that, like the fans, he was merely picking up where that episode had left off. Brilliant.
Ricardo and Khan. Take Ricardo out of that role, you take Khan out of it. Nobody could have mixed the raw passion, savagery and power with the perfect blend of intelligence as well as Ricardo did with Khan.
"he tasks me, he tasks me and I shall have him."
khan was a truly beleivable villain. charming, passionate, intelligent and very cold blooded. A true movie psychopath. In a lesser talented actor he would have been dire. ricardo created a real movie icon who will always be rememberd. ' I'll chase him around the moons of nibia, around the antaris maelstrom, and round perditions flames before i give him up!'. a class act.
In my opinion Ricardo did a MUCH better job with Khan than Benedict Cumberbatch. Then again it was JarJar Abrams failed attempt to "remake" Wrath of Kahn with Into Darkness
He had such a nice, deep, baritone and masculine voice. Oh baby.
Kahn is one of the all-time great archetypal villains: hard, ruthless, sophisticated, driven, capable, totally menacing.
Montalban nailed it.
They blew it with Cumberbatch.
This man and his role made Star trek 2 as unique and incredible as it was and still is!
Mr. Cumberbatch is a fine actor and I enjoyed his performance but it wasn't Khan. Khan was a powerful and passionate man. I don't see Cumberbatch's Khan display the kind of leadership that get people to follow him. Mr. Montalban, you nailed it.
There she is....theeerrree she is!
Ricardo Montealban lifted weights. he had a hell of a physique.
You can see it in his eyes when he gets into the vengeful khan.
he made the movie,shocked the hell out of everyone to see the guy from fantasy island was actually a phenomenal actor
Wonderful man. And so humble! Other actors could learn a thing or two from Mr. Montalban.
He was brilliant as Khan. Too bad we couldn't see more of his version of the character. Instead he showed up in the kitchy soap 'Dynasty'. What a waste of this great actor's talent. RIP Ricardo. Vaya con dios.
I will leave you how you left me...
Buried alive...
Buried alive...
Fantastic actor. Such a joy to be able to listen to him explain the process of playing the multi dimensional Khan.
I could listen to his voice for hours.
That man was beyond cool. So bummed he left us.
Khan was an extremely complicated character, far more than just a simple villain with a painful story behind him. Many of the best villains are such complex characters and Ricardo's performance - the way he just understood what this man was going through - just made the movie.
A great family and a great man. I miss him very much. As much as he enjoyed acting on television, I believe he loved how so many people admired his work in "Wrath of Khan."
Rest In Peace Mr. Montalban. You were one of the greats. Ill see you when I get to Heaven.
A VERY CLASSY GUY.
Thank you. The J.J. Abrams films made me a Star Trek fan, so I have more affinity for them than old-school Trek, but Ricardo Montalban owned the role of Khan and always will. Cumberbatch is a brilliant actor and his take on the character was very compelling, but that doesn't take anything away from Montalban's performance.
This is a gentleman. A class act.
ricardo monalban has the best accent,addmmirrall kkirrkk
His Chrysler Cordover commercials where the best!
"Fine Corinthian leather"
Ricardo was by far the BETTER Khan. Rest in Peace, Ricardo...!
It's so refreshing to see a talented actor give credit to good direction for his performance. Any great film performance is a collaboration between actor and director. Just as Ricardo said, it's too easy to go too far into ridiculous overacting. A good director will step in and say, "That's a bit too much."
R.I.P. Ricardo Montalban. You are missed.
An excellent actor. I was a fan of his long before he reprised the role of Khan. I first saw him in the movie Battleground, then the movie Mystery Street. He played a police lieutenant, which is no big deal now, but in 1950? Man, that was a BIG deal, to have a man of his ethnicity playing a lead role like that. A very underrated actor. As a side note, that was all him in The Wrath of Khan. He was in AMAZING shape. Kind of gives me hope as I sweat my ass off in the gym on the torture rack, aka, the arc trainer, lol.
I always though and have said it more than once, I think Ricardo should have received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Khan in "Wrath".
He was a brilliant actor.
Ricardo Montalban = Ricardo Montal-kahn. No one can play Kahn like he did. Like Reeves' Superman.
Ricardo has won the Lifetime Achievement award...twice. Sharks have a week dedicated to him. A bird in HIS hand is worth three in the bush. He is...the most interesting Khan in the world.
If he could have lived long enough to have uttered the line "Stay thirsty, my friend", our timeline would simply have ceased to exist.
a real class act...an artist and a gentlemen
BEST KHAAAAAAAAN by far.
Very true about realism; too many people want more realism. While characters like Khan are over the top, they are unforgettable and much loved or much loved to be hated.
Fantastic actor oneb of the best of star trek god bless him
He even was able to make a car commercial enjoyable.
What a voice, Rest in peace Montalban
passion, this is exactly the reason he made a classic villian
It's a heck of an acting challenge. Khan was a dictator of hitler/Stalin dimension. But McCoy said he always had a certain fondness for the Khan of history-because he tried to use his power to better his people's lives. Tat makes him a beneficent tyrant-with a sense of humor. Charismatic is shorthand for what Khan was. To quote Dr. Mengele:"if HE had chosen YOU, You too would have followed him !"There's nothing tougher than playing an attractive villain.
Watch the DVD with the director commentary on, and you will really appreciate Montalaban's acting talent (if you do nto already).
we miss you very much Ricardo!
Ricardo's passion can never be matched!!!
Surely I have made my meaning plain? I mean to avenge myself upon you, Admiral.
Legenddddddddddddd!!!!!!!
R.I.P brother
One type of actor reads a script & immediately asks how it serves them? The other,rarer type of actor,reads a script & asks how do they serve the script? The terrific Ricardo Montalban was the latter.
such a great movie. Shatner and Montalban were perfect as adversaries in this movie. The best Star Trek story of any of the Trek series
What a great role for him. Too bad he's gone.
Excellent performer....a class act
That's right, there is only one Khan, JJ Abrams, you didn't need to replay the character! Let the triumphant performance by the brilliant Ricardo Montalban rest in peace in the Star Trek archives and develop new exciting plot lines!
Oh Ricardo, Kahn IS the most important role.
I don't always play the part of Khan, but when I do, I do it with de PASSION.
@kaittainCBS I could not agree more! I don't understand why there is this current movement in cinema that is obsessed with 'realism'???!!! I don't get it.. When did 'realism' equal better drama, narrative or character development? Art is reflection of reality but it's a GRAND ILLUSION. There is nothing wrong with melodrama in films. I suspect this crap about 'realism' started with guys like Chris Nolan, who himself is GROSSLY overrated! The classic Star Trek melodrama is a part of what makes these films and the TV series so great. Not to mention, imagine a world where the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films were made with a blind affinity for 'realism'....ugh
I could not agree more ! Excellent description of this man!!
Awesome ! KHAAAAAAAAAAAN !!!!!!!
"Revenge, revenge..." Ha, I love hearing the Khan in him start coming out again as he speaks of the motivation.
A man with class. look how he is dressed. RIP my friend.
Brilliant Actor. We will miss him.
Ricardo Montalban, this man is a legend for Fantasy Island and Khan.
Truly a legend. He stole the show with both roles. Wrath is the best Star Trek Film ever.
In the dvd extras of the movie, he says all his parts were played to a blank screen...he never played to William Shatner directly. All their parts were shot at different times.
I'll admit that the new films are more energetic and raw than the older ones, but in the eyes of almost every critic who reviewed the latest film, Cumberbatch's acting was what made Into Darkness a great film. Cumberbatch may be no Ricardo Montalban, but I dare say he definitely did well as Khan.
best start trek bad guy ever, r.i.p ricardo
R.I.P. Ricardo Montalban.
I think Montalban has it exactly right. Khan NEEDED to be an over-the-top, overdramatic character. He isn't realistic, but sometimes realism is the wrong choice. Sometimes theatrical, melodramatic characters are perfect for a story. This was definitely one such case.
To some extent, the same is true of Shatner/Kirk. People often mock Shatner for his theatrical delivery as Kirk, but without that delivery Star Trek would not have been nearly as good, and certainly not as entertaining.
Mr.Montalban will always be Khan and my all time favorite Star Trek Villain
In the video sound is very weak
KHANNN!!!!!
What a wonderful actor and human being. He made the film the success it was.
"Limey Fruit?" My, my you seem to be a beacon of understanding and intelligence.
I love him, that is the best film, they were all good, but the one was great
Maybe its because Kahn for Trek fans is one of THE iconic characters, having been resurected from the orignial series, and becoming a major lynchpin for the films. No Khan, no death of Spock, no Genesis planet, no death of Enterprise, etc...
This is the real life "Most Interesting Man in the World"
huge hands!
I agree with all positive comments - wish he would have done more movies- Khaaannnn
Oh that voice... Uuu.
Cumberbatch struggled to be charismatic enough to play a charismatic figure; Montalban struggled not to be too charismatic. What a difference!
Very Cool to see how he Came up with the Passion for Khan vengeance..
He has huge hands.
Class Act.
Publicly he would endorse Benedict Cumberbatch in the role because he was a man of class, but privately I think he would not like it very much, as us TrueTrekkers don't.
...And with one quick decision, Ricardo Montalban tripled+ his fan base & Cordova sales nationwide...The End...
First Contact was a close second
2013 - Still the best Star Trek movie.