Richard Kiel (born September 13, 1939) is an American actor best known for his role as Jaws in the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

Richard Kiel as Jaws in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’.

He made his acting debut in an unaired TV-pilot featuring Lee Falk’s superhero The Phantom, where Kiel played an assassin called “Big Mike”, doing his best to kill the Phantom.

Kiel was the original choice to play The Incredible Hulk in the 1977 TV series, and actually participated in the filming of the TV film pilot. During the shoot, producers decided their “Hulk” needed to be muscular rather than just towering, and Kiel was dismissed. All recognisible footage of Kiel was cut, and those scenes were reshot with Lou Ferrigno.

Kiel’s distinctive height and features are a result of a hormonal condition known as acromegaly. Kiel stands at 7 ft 1¾ inches (2.178 metres). He notes in his 2002 autobiography, Making It Big in the Movies, that he used to state that he was 7 ft and 2 inches (2.1844 metres) because it was easier to remember.