Polish actor and director Vladek Sheybal was BOTD in 1923. Born Władysław Sheybal in Zgierz near Łódź, he grew up in a middle-class Jewish family. His family’s fortunes declined during the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War Two. Imprisoned in a concentration camp while still in his teens, he escaped twice only to be caught and tortured as punishment. After the war, he performed in Polish theatres, appearing in his first film in 1957. An opponent of the Polish Communist Party, he moved to Paris and then Vienna, before setting in London. After well-reviewed theatre appearances, he worked for the BBC as a television director. In 1963, he made his English-language film debut in the James Bond film From Russia with Love, playing the villainous chess grandmaster Kronsteen. He had an eye-catching role as a gay German artist in Ken Russell‘s insane adaptation of D. H. Lawrence‘s novel Women in Love, and appeared in Russell’s films Debussy, Billion Dollar Brain and The Boy Friend. Typically cast as villains, his other notable roles include the 1967 Bond film Casino Royale, The Lady Vanishes and the TV spy thriller Smiley’s People. Openly bisexual, he was in a seven year relationship with the actress Irena Eichlerówna, though little is known about his relationships with men. He died in 1992, aged 69.