The quintessential Englishman: what we learned from Sir Roger Moore

Doctors regenerate, Bagginses grows old and Harry Potters grow up, but Bonds – like diamonds – are forever. Save a blip in Skyfall (which we’ll put down to a midlife crisis), the character of James Bond remains constant throughout all 24 films, and the success of the series depends on the audience suspending their disbelief and investing in the fantasy that Bond remains impervious to aging. No matter which new actor is picked to play the role, or which decade the film happens to be set in, we are expected to believe he is the same man.

The only thing is, nobody really does. We all have our favourite Bond, because we recognise that every actor who has taken on the role over the years has brought something new to the table.

There will be outliers – the pal who pipes up with a gushing paean to Timothy Dalton’s turn in The Living Daylights, the died-in-the-wool George Lazenby advocate who simply can’t hear a bad word said about On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – but most people settle on Sir Roger Moore, who sadly passed away today, or Sir Sean Connery, as their favourite.

Why Moore? Because he was Bond incarnate, and then some. Moore deserves his spot at the top of the rankings because he was so much more than just Bond. He was the quintessential Englishman, somewhere between gentleman and jester – a slick, schmaltzy, suave provocateur. He handled the tone of the role perfectly, pitching his delivery somewhere between the camp kitsch of Piers Brosnan and the smouldering cool of Connery. Moore’s 007 was, in a word, fun: never above a wry laugh, preferably with a dry Martini in hand.

Perhaps most poignantly now that he’s passed on, Moore inspired scores of fans off screen too. He proved to be a truly decent gentleman and role model, inspiring generations of Englishmen to follow suit, consciously or otherwise. Through his wry humour and good natured manner, he set a blueprint of behaviour to aspire to.

Nobody did it better, so here are a few things Moore did the best:

Raising an eyebrow with inference

The raised eyebrow is perhaps the hardest facial gesture to perfect in the gentleman's arsenal. Get it right and you give the impression of someone who is in total control; get it wrong and you look like, well, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (and no one wants that).

Sir Roger wrote the book in how to raise an eyebrow. Here he is as Simon Templar, cooly inferring that he knows, and he knows that you know that he knows.

via GIPHY

Later in his career, Sir Roger's vertically challenged eyebrows became enshrined in comedy gold, when Spitting Image sent it up in a hair-raising caricature. Not that he cared, mind: "My acting range has always been something between the two extremes of 'raises left eyebrow' and 'raises right eyebrow'," Sir Roger is reported to have said.

Perfecting the self-deprecating quip

Indeed, Sir Roger's humour knew no bounds when it came to dryly downplaying his own achievements. In 2015, the venerable actor was asked about the talents of Daniel Craig as James Bond. “I believe he’s an excellent Bond," enthused Sir Roger. "He’s much stronger than I am. I think he does a hell of a good job of it. He and Sean are I think undoubtedly the best Bonds.”

Where, asked the interviewer, did Sir Roger rank himself in the unofficial list?

“I think a little bit behind George Lazenby, I suppose,” came the response. (Lazenby, an Australian model picked from the wilderness for 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret, is widely regarded as the worst Bond to grace the silver screen.)

What made Sir Roger, who took over after Lazenby vacated the licence to kill in 1971, so good in comparison? Perhaps it was the sardonic wit that helped him to deliver zingers like this: "Of course I do my own stunts. And I also do my own lying."

Supercharging a combover

Moore’s hairdo was somewhere between a blow-dry and a combover – a relaxed look that suited his easygoing, relaxed manner on-screen. Ask for 'the Roger Moore' in a barbers and they'll know exactly what you mean. Whether or not they can replicate it is another thing... 

Telling a good anecdote

Moore penned a series of widely successful books including the aptly titled autobiography ‘My Word Is My Bond’, (there’s that droll sense of humour again). He became known for his ability to regale fun stories of his adventures in the film industry and beyond. One book, titled Roger Moore’s James Bond Diary, detailed at lengths his experiences of dining with Bond producer Harry Saltzman, and, the book alleges, his access to real life top secret information.

Making friends with his foes

Bond’s tussle with Jaws in a train carriage was arguably one of the most ferocious fight scenes in any Bond film, but despite the pair’s on-screen wranglings, Moore later described actor Richard Keil who played Jaws as “a big man with an even bigger heart”.

Growing old gracefully

Moore was a dapper gentleman to the end, and spoke of how he still felt young at heart. "The wonderful thing about age is that your knees don't work as well, you can't run down steps quite as easily and obviously you can't lift heavy weights. But your mind doesn't feel any different. I read the obituary columns and I think: 'Oh goodness, he was only 93!"

All the same, he didn’t just grow old gracefully. As he told GQ in a 2008 interview, “You can either grow old gracefully or begrudgingly. I chose both.”

Keeping success in perspective

After retiring from the Bond franchise in 1985, Sir Roger stepped back from the big screen, favouring cameos over leading roles. That’s not to say he wasn’t busy, however. Sir Roger became a Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef in 1991 and remained active in the role for over two decades, visiting Ghana, Honduras, and the Philippines in the process.

Moore was knighted for services to charity in 2003. “The knighthood for my humanitarian work meant more than if it had been for my acting,” he told the Guardian. “I’m sure some people would say, ‘What does an actor know about world issues?’ But [working for Unicef] I’ve become an expert on things from the causes of dwarfism to the benefits of breastfeeding. I feel very privileged.”

Always playing the part

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