| "To my eye, women get sexier around
35. They know a thing or two, and knowledge is always alluring."
on his good looks ... "I don't see
myself as the 'Hunk of the Month.'"
on sex scenes ... "I know most actors
say otherwise, but I like sex scenes. Bond was supposed to
be this great lover, but I always found the love scenes in
those movies a little dull. It's lovely to work out the fantasy
of it all in celluloid and then go home to my wife."
on the movie industry ... "There's
too many people in seats of power who just haven't got a clue
what they're doing. They're bean counters, and it just pisses
me off because consequently our kids go to see this crap movie...
there's nothing with meaningfulness."
on his deceased wife, Cassandra ... "Cassie
has made me the man I am, the actor I am, the father I am.
She's forever embedded in every fiber of my being."
"I think that all the films I've ever made are personal,
even James Bond, because it's so much of myself, so much of
who I am as a man and as an actor. You have to invest yourself
in every character that you portray."
"...there's that lovely line from that wonderful epic
picture that I made called Grey Owl where they say to Archie
Belaney, A man becomes what he dreams. You have dreamed well.
Part of the dreams go back to my childhood and when I left
Ireland in 1964, I discovered the cinema. One of the first
films I saw was Goldfinger - I didn't want to be James Bond
but the seed of cinema and pictures was sown there in Putney
High Street. And then I discovered Clint Eastwood and Steve
McQueen and the movies."
on why, after the 1987 demise of Remington Steele,
he appeared in a series of movies that ultimately failed in
the box office ... "I had to make a living.
I had the mortgage to pay; I had the school fees to pay. I
had bread and butter to put on the table. You know your worth
as an actor, but you have to get a job."
on bond ...
"There was only one Bond for me, and
it was Sean Connery. That made the role daunting."
on why he thinks he would have regretted winning
the James Bond role in 1986 ... "It's a role
better suited to someone who is in his 40s, old enough to
have the confidence and the sophistication and strength to
be able to stand there and just let the moment sit. Bond is
a man with the greatest of confidence. And playing that takes
practice. In 1986, I think I was 33 or something like that,
and I still looked like a baby. Finally, I'm growing into
this face of mine. That takes time."
"Bond is an enigma. He's smooth and bigger than life,
but he's vague as a personality. It's a little like doing
a period piece. Look, I'm thankful, the role made me an international
star. I've been in the backwaters of Papua New Guinea and
heard, 'Hey, Bond.'"
"Being an actor in Hollywood involves lots of things
beyond acting. Charm really helps. And it's a good idea to
incorporate a little Bond into all your dealings." |
