Trivia: Before Patrick Macnee's John Steed became the face of The Avengers, the show's original lead was Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel. Hendry also appeared in Casino Royale (1967), but nearly all his scenes were cut. His only surviving moment is as the corpse Vesper throws down the chute. It's a meta gag: the original Avengers star literally discarded in a Bond spoof. The Avengers debuted over a year before Dr. No, kicking off the 60s spy craze.