Line #71 Creator/RogerMoore


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roger_moore.jpg]]
2	''[[caption-width-right:300:"Some are blessed with musical ability, others with good looks. Myself, I was blessed with modesty."]]''
3
4	->''"The fact of the matter is that most actors are shy people."''
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6	[[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Sir]] Roger George Moore, thank you.
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8	First and foremost known for the Television series ''Series/TheSaint''...
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10	Wait, what? [[JustHereForGodzilla That's not why you actually clicked this page, did you]].
11
12	Tough.
13
14	Born 14 October 1927 in Stockwell, London, he was the QuintessentialBritishGentleman who first dabbled in the TV series ''Series/{{Maverick}}'' as Beauregard Maverick, one of the interchangeable brothers for which the series was well known for. He also headlined a version of ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}''. [[AsYouKnow As previously mentioned,]] his part on ''Series/TheSaint'' got him his biggest role for which many people still know him to this day:
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16	[[TheNameIsBondJamesBond Bond]], Film/JamesBond.
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18	Roger Moore's relationship with the film series started with ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and lasted until ''Film/AViewToAKill''. [[OlderThanTheyLook He was 45 when he started out]] and almost 58 when he wrapped things up, with the longest on-screen tenure in number of films to date, at seven[[note]]Creator/SeanConnery did appear as Bond in seven movies, but the seventh was ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'', which was not produced by Creator/EonProductions. Creator/DanielCraig came the closest to matching the record, with ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' being his fifth and final film as Bond, although his tenure in years has exceeded Moore's at 15.[[/note]]. His era is known for being more lighthearted, often to the point of self-parody, making him somewhat divisive among fans of the series, and it is often debated how much of the self-parody was him and how much of it was the studio. That being said, he did have serious moments as Bond, which seem to have been severely underappreciated, possibly due to criticism focusing either on the silly moments or his age. He was succeeded by Creator/TimothyDalton, who had a way more serious take on the character overall.
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20	Unfortunately Sir Roger's affection for the role of Bond fluctuated. It seems on one hand he loved the job, but on the other hand, a great deal of IAmNotSpock feedback came from him. Reportedly, "[[WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings Who's the best Bond!?]]" questions tended to leave a sour taste in his mouth (despite, you know, Creator/GeorgeLazenby already having been there).
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22	Later in his life, he retired as an actor, but seemed all right with doing a cameo here and there, and put his celebrity to good use in humanitarian activities -- most notably as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, earning a knighthood in the process. He also filmed a role in the pilot for a new series based on ''Series/TheSaint'', after having provided a voiceover for the ill-fated 1990s movie version.
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24	He passed away from cancer on 23 May 2017 at the age of 89. He was the first actor to play James Bond in the Creator/EonProductions film series to pass on; Creator/SeanConnery followed in October 2020.
25	----
26	!!Partial Filmography:
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28	* ''Film/CaesarAndCleopatra'': Roman soldier
29	* ''Series/{{Ivanhoe}}'': Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe
30	* ''Series/{{Maverick}}'': Beauregard Maverick
31	* ''Romulus and the Sabines'' (1961): UsefulNotes/{{Romulus}}
32	* ''Series/TheSaint'' (1962-69): Simon Templar
33	* ''The Man Who Haunted Himself'' (1970): Harold Pelham
34	* ''Series/ThePersuaders'': Lord Brett Rupert George André Sinclair
35	* ''Film/JamesBond'': Commander James Bond, Agent 007
36	** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' (1973)
37	** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' (1974)
38	** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' (1977)
39	** ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' (1979)
40	** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' (1981)
41	** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' (1983)
42	** ''Film/AViewToAKill'' (1985)
43	* ''Film/SherlockHolmesInNewYork'' (1976): Literature/SherlockHolmes
44	* ''Film/ShoutAtTheDevil'' (1976): Sebastian Oldsmith.
45	* ''Film/TheWildGeese'' (1978): Lt. Shawn Fynn.
46	* ''Series/TheMuppetShow''
47	* ''Film/NorthSeaHijack'' (also released as ''ffolkes''): Rufus Excalibur ffolkes
48	* ''Film/EscapeToAthena''
49	* ''Film/TheSeaWolves''
50	* ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' (1981): as Seymour Goldfarb, a man who thinks he's Roger Moore playing James Bond
51	* ''Film/CurseOfThePinkPanther'': TheNthDoctor for Inspector Clouseau
52	* ''Film/{{Bullseye\|1990}}'': Gerald Bradley-Smith/Sir John Bavistock
53	* ''Film/TheQuest'': Lord Edgar Dobbs
54	* ''Film/SpiceWorld'': The Chief
55	* ''Series/{{Alias}}'' (2002): Edward Poole
56	* ''Film/BoatTrip'' (2003): Lloyd Faversham
57	* ''Film/CatsAndDogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' (2010)
58
59	!!Tropes related to Sir Roger Moore:
60
61	* ActorInspiredElement:
62	** His Bond being the most debonair of them all was essentially due to him.
63	** Before Moore, Bond never smoked cigars, neither in the Creator/IanFleming novels nor onscreen. That changed when he demanded an unlimited supply of fine cigars in his movie contracts and that Bond smoke them onscreen.
64	* BadassDriver: Was a trucker before he was an actor and did most of his own stunt driving.
65	* BewareTheNiceOnes: His take on Bond was easily the most charming, debonair version but could be just as ruthless as the rest when needed. If the anecdote about Lee Marvin below is any indication, Moore was an example of this in real life as well.
66	* TheCameo: Most of his post-Film/JamesBond career in a nutshell. After playing such a big role for so long, he preferred taking on smaller or supporting roles.
67	* TheCharmer: Most famously as Bond but pretty much every character he played was this due to his boundless charisma, sly wit and laid-back personality. By all accounts, he was very much the same in real life.
68	* CoolOldGuy: UNICEF ambassador, knight, and incredibly charming.
69	* DoesNotLikeGuns: He was accidentally shot in the leg when he was 14 and his hatred of guns only grew stronger as he got older. Although many of his characters handled firearms, it took a lot of cajoling to get him to actually shoot them on camera, and, oftentimes, those sequences were handled by stunt doubles.
70	* FascinatingEyebrow: He probably did it better than Creator/SeanConnery. He even once joked that his acting range was "left eyebrow raised, right eyebrow raised".
71	* GentlemanSnarker: In real life, he was probably ''more'' of a snarker than Simon Templar and James Bond put together.
72	* IAmNotSpock: Averted. Unlike [[Creator/SeanConnery his predecessor's]] notorious frustration at [[IAmNotSpock his continued association with the role]], Moore wasn't bothered in the least at being attached to James Bond or it being his career-defining role.
73	** In [[https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/30/brilliant-sir-roger-moore-story-goes-viral-will-brighten-day-13058150/ this story shared after his death]], a young fan met Moore at the airport and asked for his autograph, [[FriendToAllChildren which he happily obliged]]. However, he was disappointed when he found it was signed "Roger Moore" and not "James Bond," not knowing the difference between the actor and the fictional character. Moore then rolled with it, taking the fan aside and telling him that he ''had'' to sign his name as "Roger Moore" or else his enemies might know where he was, making him promise not to tell anyone he had met James Bond. [[BrickJoke Some twenty years later]], that same fan met Moore again on the set of a UNICEF commercial, and not only did Moore fully remember their encounter at the airport, he made the same joke that "Roger Moore" was his cover as he was getting ready to leave for fear that any of the film crew could've been working for Blofeld, making the now adult fan [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee feel like an excited little kid all over again]].
74	* IAmVeryBritish: Oh so very much.
75	* LanternJawOfJustice: He had arguably the most impressive jawline of all the Bonds.
76	* LargeAndInCharge: He was 6' 1½" (1.87 m), only slightly shorter than the two previous Bonds.
77	* MusclesAreMeaningless: Critics often mocked him for not looking tough enough to be an action star. Moore beat up Creator/LeeMarvin, one of the critics who was rather tough himself. Marvin later admitted that "Moore may not look it, but he is built like granite".
78	* OlderThanTheyLook: He was three years older than Creator/SeanConnery, and looked about ten years younger in his first two Bond films.
79	* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: Both onscreen and out of it.
80	* SelfDeprecation: The foundation of his sense of humour. He described his emotional range as James Bond as "Left eyebrow raised, right eyebrow raised, eyes crossed whilst being strangled by Jaws," and expressed shock at never being nominated for an Oscar despite learning a whole two more facial expressions. He was also the only Bond who freely admitted to using stunt doubles, saying "Of course I do all my own stunts. I do all my own lying, too."
81	** As mentioned in his filmography above, his character in ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' is an eccentric millionaire ''who thinks he's Roger Moore'' — which apparently involves behaving like James Bond, right down to driving a fully tricked-out Aston Martin [=DB5=] (even though, amusingly, that car is more associated with [[Creator/SeanConnery Roger's predecessor]]).
82	* SharpDressedMan: Oh yes indeed.
83	** All of his suits for ''Series/TheSaint'', ''Series/ThePersuaders'', ''Film/JamesBond,'' and a bunch of his other films and TV series were made by his real-life tailors[[note]]he'd actually steal the suits from wardrobe after filming wrapped -- as well as being very nice and made to his measurements, some of them were worth more than his pre-Bond paychecks[[/note]].
84	** Prior to his acting career kicking off, he worked as a model for knitwear, which earned Moore the nickname "The Big Knit".

Context Creator / RogerMoore