James Bond (Roger Moore)

Stats

James Bond played by (Sir) Roger Moore

Born in London, England on 14th October 1927

Starred In Live And Let Die (1973), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View To A Kill (1985).

Profile

After Sean Connery was persuaded to play James Bond once more in Diamonds Are Forever, he declined another role as James Bond, despite being offered huge sums of money. So the hunt was on to find a new James Bond, a new Bond that would fare better under the shadow of Sean Connery.

Live and Let Die was a crucial time in the history of Bond films as it was deemed that Bond's time had come to an end. With Sean Connery no longer wanting to do any more films, and George Lazenby leaving the role, the producers had one last chance to keep the series running. Luckily they made the right choice with giving Roger Moore the role, since no doubt things would have been very different if Live and Let Die had not been a success.

By the time of Moonraker the Bond legacy was back on track. Moonraker held onto the title of 'Biggest Grossing Bond Film' for an astonishing 16 years before it was smashed by Pierce Brosnan's introduction in Goldeneye.

In For Your Eyes Only, Bond's age starts to become increasingly noticeable, especially amongst younger cast members such as Bibi Dahl. Consequently in 1985, after deciding he is now too old for the part, A View To A Kill becomes his last appearance as Bond.

About

Working in his early career as a model, and later as an actor in films, Roger Moore wouldn't gain worldwide fame until he started to appear in TV series such as 'The Saint' and 'The Persuaders'. While initially considering taking on the role of Bond in the late 1960's, it wasn't until after Sean Connery announced he definitely would not be returning, and George Lazenby's departure, that he decided to audition for the role.

From the very start of Live and Let Die, Roger Moore's portrayal of Bond brought a whole new style to the character. His light-hearted and almost comical style of playing Bond helped establish himself in the role, and to break away from the image of Sean Connery. He did not have that 'tougher' side to him that Connery had, but instead added more humour, wit, sexual suggestion and sarcasm. There were however the rare occasions where this darker side did emerge. A good example being In For Your Eyes Only, where after a exciting chase trying to catch up to Emile Leopold Locque, his car ends up balancing on a cliff edge. Bond walks over and after mentioning a few words, coldly and purposefully gives the car a good kick over the edge sending him to his death.

Throughout all his films Roger Moore has provided Bond fans with excellent performances and truly comical moments. In The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond is as calm as ever, and as smooth as ever. When he's in the telephone van with Major Anya Amasova trying to get away from Jaws, he seems perfectly relaxed even with Jaws ripping the van apart all around him! Similarly who can forget the ski-chase at the start of the film, leading up the famous jump and opening of the Union Jack parachute; or even Bond enjoying a nice drive in the country in Melina Havelock's canary yellow Citroën 2CV!

Roger Moore sums up the Bond character nicely by referring to 007 as being the worlds most un-secret, secret agent; everywhere Bond goes people know who he is!