Still Bonding with Roger Moore

Welcome to Moore’s world.

Moore wears a pacemaker,and in 1993 underwent surgery for prostate cancer,but today he pronounces his health “excellent.’’ He has nothing to limit his frequent travel as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef,or to keep him from taking an occasional acting assignment.

“Actors only retire when the phone stops ringing,’’ Moore says. “I enjoy work. But I don’t bother looking for work. My agent looks.’’ In A Princess for Christmas,scheduled for Hallmark Channel,Moore found a role he liked. He plays a grumpy old duke trying to establish a relationship with the young son and daughter of his estranged,now-deceased elder son.

“I thought,‘As long as I don’t have to work too hard or jump around,why not?’’’

Since A View to a Kill (1985) ended his tenure as James Bond,Moore has been seen onscreen only infrequently. He co-starred opposite Michael Caine in Bullseye! (1990) and Jean-Claude Van Damme in The Quest (1996). Many of his jobs have been voice-overs,however,including Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010).

‘’Voice work is easy,’’ he says. ‘’I don’t have to get made up,get my hair done or wear a smart suit’’. He chuckles. Clearly Moore enjoys his occasional joke.

“Without humour you’d have a terrible job going through life,’’ the veteran actor says. Bond movies have always had jokes,but Moore’s run in the series—from Live and Let Die (1973),The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) through Moonraker (1979),For Your Eyes Only (1981),Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill—had more than most. That may be a reflection of their star’s personality.

Looking back on his years as the iconic British spy,Moore has few regrets.

“I think I stopped playing him at the right time,’’ he says,“although according to the critics it was probably 10 years too late. I was beginning to feel like Gary Cooper in Love in the Afternoon (1957). When your leading lady is the age of your own daughter and when you bend your head down slightly to look at her—hopefully she’s shorter than you are—and you have three double chins,that’s not so good. You start to creak.’’

“I was 58 when I gave up,’’ Moore says. “I was still playing two hours of tennis a day and doing a 45-minute workup and swimming. I was fit.’’ He jokes that,for all the Bond stunts he did,his biggest injuries doing the series came during kissing scenes.

“There was some lip-splitting,’’ he says.

Unlike Sean Connery,who originated the role but quit because he didn’t want to be typecast as Bond,Moore embraced the chance to be 007. “I loved Sean’s Bond films,’’ Moore says. “But I don’t think he was that happy being Bond. He wanted to prove he could do other things.’’ Moore,on the other hand,was a veteran actor by the time he took over the role,familiar from such TV series as The Saint (1962-1969) and The Persuaders (1971-1972).

“I didn’t think I had anything to prove,’’ he says. “They already knew I wasn’t much good,so I was quite happy to jog along.”

“Audiences like Bond movies because they know,to a certain extent,what they’re going to get,’’ he says. “It’s like telling a fairy story to a child. I’ve seen all the films,’’’ Moore continues,“I loved Casino Royale (2006). Daniel Craig is a magnificent athlete as well as a damn fine actor.’’

He pauses,perhaps weighing whether he should risk saying something negative.

“I thought that Quantum of Solace (2008) was a bit too off-track and a little too violent,’’ he finally says. “I didn’t quite understand it.’’

Although he left behind the “shaken,not stirred” martinis a quarter-century ago,Moore did revive his version of Bond for a promotional film to help London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympics. Any hankering for one more go-round as 007?

“Of course not,’’ Moore says. “But maybe I could be his elderly grandfather.’’NANCY MILLS