Sir Roger George Moore, KBE (born 14 October 1927), is an English actor. He is perhaps best known for playing British secret agent James Bond in the official film series for seven films between 1973 and 1985, and Simon Templar in The Saint from 1962 to 1969. He is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the charity organisation UNICEF.
Moore was born on 14 October 1927 in Stockwell, London. The only child of George Alfred Moore, a policeman, and Lillian "Lily" (née Pope), a housewife, he attended Battersea Grammar School, but was evacuated to Holsworthy, Devon, during World War II. He attended the College of the Venerable Bede at the University of Durham, but did not graduate.
At 18, shortly after the end of World War II, Moore was conscripted for national service. On 21 September 1946, he was commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps as a second lieutenant and later a captain. Moore served commanding a small depot in West Germany. He later looked after entertainers for the armed forces passing through Hamburg.
Immediately prior to his national service, he did a brief stint at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, during which his fees were paid by film director Brian Desmond Hurst, who also used Moore as an extra in his film Trottie True. At RADA, Moore was a classmate of his future Bond costar Lois Maxwell, the original Miss Moneypenny.
Because of his commitment to several television shows, in particular the long-lasting series The Saint, Roger Moore was unavailable for the James Bond franchise for a considerable time. Moore didn't consider the possibility of playing the role of 007 until Connery stepped down as Bond for good. At that point Moore was approached, and he accepted producer Albert Broccoli's offer in August 1972. Moore says in his autobiography that he had to cut his hair and lose weight, but although he resented that, he was finally cast as James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973).
Moore played Bond in Live and Let Die (1973); The Man with the Golden Gun (1974); The Spy Who Loved Me (1977); Moonraker (1979); For Your Eyes Only (1981); Octopussy (1983); and A View to a Kill (1985).
Moore is the longest-serving James Bond actor, having spent 12 years in the role (from his debut in 1973, to his retirement from the role in 1985), having made seven official films in a row. Moore is the oldest actor to have played Bond - he was 45 in Live and Let Die (1973), and 58 when he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985.
Moore's Bond was very different from the character created by Ian Fleming. Screenwriters like George MacDonald Fraser provided scenarios in which 007 was a kind of seasoned, debonair playboy who would always have a trick or gadget in stock when he needed it. This was designed to serve the contemporary taste of the 1970s. Moore's version of Bond was also known for his sense of humor and witty one-liners, but also an extremely skilled detective with a cunning mind.
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