The James Bond franchise was one of its kind, especially in the earlier era of Hollywood. Roger Moore perfected the role of the 007 agent after portraying the character in seven Bond films. Although the role had its perks, there were some moments of difficulty filming.
While starring in the 1979 movie Moonraker, Roger Moore revealed some difficulties while shooting an intimate scene with co-star Lois Chiles. The actor revealed that it was the hardest moment of his career.
Roger Moore Recalls A Hard Time On The Sets of Moonraker
With a budget of £30 million, Roger Moore’s Moonraker was one of the big-budget films at that time. Add in the space race that was raging between USA and Russia at that time, the producers wanted to get in on the action.
Moonraker was also partly inspired by Star Wars and wanted to showcase James Bond in space (and saving the world, obviously), and thus came, Moonraker. Featuring an earth-shattering storyline, Roger Moore does it all in the 1979 movie. It also included an intimate scene between the Skyfall actor and co-star Lois Chiles…in a zero-gravity shuttle when re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Although not actually in space, Roger Moore had to go through intense blasts of air to recreate the zero-gravity simulator scene which ended up giving Moore a bad headache. The Octopussy actor recalled the post-effects of the headache and how the intimate scene was shot with great difficulty.
“I was hanging there, with all the blood rushing into my nose and eyes.”
Being a professional actor, Moore had never complained about the harsh shooting conditions and was praised by co-star Lois Chiles after the movie premiered. Although however cool and calm the actor remained on set, Lois Chiles revealed that Roger Moore had his demons to deal with.
Roger Moore Had No Care For The Critics
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Following the much-loved reception of Moonraker, there were some critics who threw shade at the Live and Let Die actor’s acting abilities. Lois Chiles recalled that the suave Bond that you saw on-screen was not actually Roger Moore’s natural state but further added that he did not care for those critics.
“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 defense. Bond had its critics, and many had questioned Roger’s acting. But he would joke about that. When honored 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.'”
Moonraker, although currently stands at a poor rating on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB earned big at the global box office during its release in 1979. Moonraker is available to rent Apple TV+.
Source: Express
