Grant

I thought he was a really interesting character. The fact that he is such a threat and a menace all the way through the film but you only hear him speak when he meets Bond on the train.

That got me wondering, where is he supposed to be from? Is he someone who has studied the English language and mannerisms so that he can blend into society and be a spy for Smersh or Spectre, but he himself is not English? Or is he just some English thug who Spectre recruited after he escaped from Dartmoor?

I suspect he's not English from the way he talks with Bond, his accent is good but his English colloquial expressions and the things he does aren't quite right:

He talks about "busting records" instead of breaking them. He drinks Red Chianti with Fish. He says "Cheero" instead of cheers. He says "0-0-7" instead of "Double-0 7". And of course the overuse of the term "old man" which seems excessively friendly towards Bond considering they don't know each other.