When we last saw James Bond, he was in a dire predicament. That’s not unusual. While Bond's future looked to be in doubt at his last sighting, I believe we will see him again.
In the meantime, here are some things you might not know about 007.
1: Ian Fleming didn’t want Sean Connery to portray James Bond.
Fleming thought Connery was too rough around the edges for the Bond character. Input from Fleming’s female friends persuaded him otherwise. Plus, Connery developed a signature move where he extended his pinky finger while killing bad guys. Wait, being told that’s not true. That would have been a great signature move, though.
2: Lois Maxwell, Miss Moneypenny in the Bond franchise, had her choice of two roles.
Maxwell chose the role of Moneypenny over the role of Sylvia Trench, Bond’s love interest in Dr. No. Maxwell didn’t want to do the part of Trench because it involved acting in only a pajama top.
I guess Maxwell didn’t dig Trench.
3: Noel Coward was asked to play Dr. No.
Maybe Coward was afraid to play the role.
4: Sean Connery was pursued by fans and journalists in Japan during the making of “You Only Live Twice.”
On one occasion, Connery went to the toilet only to find a journalist perched over the stall. Apparently, the journalist didn’t say, ‘Action!”
5: “License to Kill” was originally titled “License Revoked.”
So why the change? Polling indicated a lot of the test audience didn’t know what “revoked” means. Well, now we know what the target demographic for Bond movies is.
6: The selection of Daniel Craig as Bond faced backlash because he was blond.
Good to see Daniel breaking that glass ceiling for blond actors.
7: The age of James Bond fluctuates.
Actors playing Bond ranged in age from 29-year old George Lazenby to 58-year-old Roger Moore. Sort of like Charro. And I believe that’s the only time you’ll see Charro compared to James Bond.
8: Roger Moore hates violence.
So why did he play James Bond? Roger didn’t hate money.
9: Roger Moore had the lowest body count of any James Bond in ‘The Man with The Golden Gun.”
That rendition of Bond killed off only one guy. Pierce Brosnan's James Bond killed 47 guys in “Goldeneye.” I wonder if he got paid by the kill?
10: James Bond’s favorite card game is Baccarat.
His least favorite card game? Old Maid.
11: President John F Kennedy was a huge fan of James Bond.
Kennedy allegedly watched Bond movies for romantic tips. Wait, being told that’s not true.Well, he was the stunt double for the love scenes. I’m being told that also wasn’t the case. I’ll move on.
12: It seems Roger Moore wasn’t a great athlete.
Roger didn’t do any of his own running during his stint as James Bond. A stunt double did that. Roger thought he looked awkward running.
He was also afraid of guns. Couldn’t run, afraid of guns. How did he get the job?Was Pee Wee Herman unavailable?
13: Pierce Brosnan had to wait to play James Bond because he was contractually obligated to play TV’s, Remington Steele.
It turns out playing James Bond was more lucrative than playing the Man of Steele.
14: James Bond has been shot at approximately 5000 times.
It just goes to show, bad guys are incredibly bad shots. Ironically on one of the few occasions Bond has been shot, it was by Moneypenny in “Skyfall.”
15: Sean Connery wore a toupee during his James Bond days.
That gives a new meaning to the term, “take cover!”
So how many of those James Bond facts did you know?
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