October 26, 2015
Ex Bond Actor Roger Moore: 007 Can't Be Gay or Female
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Actor Roger Moore has critics shaken and stirred this week over controversial comments he made regarding James Bond, saying that 007 will never be portrayed as gay or as a woman in the movies "for the simple reason that wasn't what Ian Fleming wrote."
Moore, who played Bond in seven films between 1973 and 1985, told the Daily Mail Sunday he heard discussions about whether or not 007 should be anything else besides a white, straight male.
"I have heard people talk about how there should be a lady Bond or a gay Bond, but they wouldn't be Bond for the simple reason that wasn't what Ian Fleming wrote," he said. "It is not about being homophobic or, for that matter, racist - it is simply about being true to the character."
Moore's remarks come after current Bond star Daniel Craig was asked if he would want a female or black actor to play the next version of the spy.
"Anything's possible. You can do anything as long as it's credible and it works," he said, according to Sky News. "It doesn't matter."
Moore, 88, also told the Daily Mail that political correctness has turned Bond villains into generic evildoers.
"There is a danger always of causing offense," he said. "I suppose you could just about get away with a villain from Burkina Faso, but that's about it."