Suave and debonair (and that’s off screen!)

LOIS CHILES: Moonraker (Dr Holly Goodhead) 1979

THE debonair, suave Bond you saw on screen was all Roger. Off screen, he was pretty much the same guy. He was elegant, kind and a very dear person, though I think that was partly a defence. Bond had its critics, and many had questioned Roger’s acting.

But he would joke about that. When honoured by the Friar’s Club in New York, he told them: ‘Say whatever you want about how bad my acting is, it won’t hurt my feelings, because everybody else has said it before.’ When I joined Moonraker, it was already Roger’s fourth Bond film but he never acted the star. He’d always include me in dinners and drinks with his family after filming. We filmed in glorious locations, in Paris, Venice and Rio de Janeiro, and most of my scenes were with Roger, including a couple of love scenes. Even in those, Roger would be joking to keep the mood light. It was never drudgery with Roger.