Moore can act.

jonnybond78

Ok, so Sir Rog is a much maligned actor. However, the monologue to Anya in TSWLM concerning the death of her lover is first rate. Anyone else agree?

heartbroken_mr_drax

I certainly do!!

I think TSWLM, FYEO and OP would be my highlights in terms of his acting requirements and abilities. In particular TSWLM and OP.

While FYEO is much more pared down in terms of tone, Moore just plays it without much gusto. As opposed to the gusto he brings in OP matched with some excellent acting - such as when he first meets Octopussy, with Orlov and his clown suit "I'm deadly serious!"

His ability to play light and not-light for me seems to make his acting contrasts greater - as opposed to Connery's consistent sexiness, Craig's devil-may-care approach and Pierce's inconsistencies brought on by other factors.

TWINE would be the best acting display by a Bond IMO.

Gassy Man

I've never understood the criticism of his acting. People may not like his choices to play Bond lighter than others, but his actual acting is just as good as anyone else's who has played Bond.

Jag

Roger Moore is certainly a great actor!

Higgins

My favorite Moore scene is at the beginning of FYEO when he's visiting Theresa's grave.

He's a phantastic actor!

Matt S

Moore is a brilliant actor. I think OP is his best-acted Bond film, though all of his Bond films have great moments. Even Moonraker, when he's really shaken after getting out of the centrifuge. I find Moore the most human Bond after Dalton.

For outside of Bond, The Man Who Haunted Himself shows he can really act. The Naked Face is another great performance from him. Even in The Persuaders he gives some great performances, particularly in "Someone Like Me" and "The Morning After".

Moore always had the problem of criticising his acting too much. He speaks so poorly of his acting that people believe him.

Thunderpussy

Sadly Sir Roger made it look easy, so everyone assumes he's not doing anything.
For Me, he gave his best performances as 007 in his last three movies ( not that
there was anything wrong with his first four).
I thought he blended the humour, Charm and Callousness of Bond better in
FYEO,OP and AVTAK.

Chriscoop

I love sir Roger, watching one of his bond films is like putting on a favourite sweater, smelling a roast dinner cooking, being visited by your favourite uncle and feeling all warm and fuzzy. He is also a brilliant actor, I enjoyed him in gold also. He picked the right parts for his persona so his acting is effortless.

ToTheRight

Matt S wrote:

Moore is a brilliant actor. I think OP is his best-acted Bond film, though all of his Bond films have great moments. Even Moonraker, when he's really shaken after getting out of the centrifuge. I find Moore the most human Bond after Dalton.

For outside of Bond, The Man Who Haunted Himself shows he can really act. The Naked Face is another great performance from him. Even in The Persuaders he gives some great performances, particularly in "Someone Like Me" and "The Morning After".

Moore always had the problem of criticising his acting too much. He speaks so poorly of his acting that people believe him.

Well put. He is brilliant and of the old school. He often gets picked on for amount of humor in the films, but he can play the whole spectrum of emotion. The Naked Face and Man Who Haunted Himself are excellent examples of just how good he is.
There are countless episodes of The Saint as well. "The Saint Plays with Fire", for instance shows, had he been given a scene in Bond such as the torture sequence in CR, no doubt he could do it.
I'd even go as far to say that as Bond, he was given far more scenes that only HE could pull off.
I agree about Octopussy. When he discovers Vijay, it's all there in his performance, and is quite subtle. He doesn't indicate or overdo anything, the emotion and situation are just there. Simple. In addition, I doubt any of the other actors would have brought that sense of urgency Moore has when the bomb is ready to go off. People may whine about his disguise in that scene, but IMO it's one of the most suspenseful moments in the series due to Moore's performance.
In interviews he is very humble about his abilities and often downplays his talent by joking about it poking fun at himself. That, to me, is far more engaging and interesting than some actor who comes across as arrogant. If there were more actors with class like Roger Moore today, I might go to the movies more often.

bond2002

It would of been interesting to see Moore play Bond in a more serious manner but i guess at the time it probably was not thought about

Matt S

bond2002 wrote:

It would of been interesting to see Moore play Bond in a more serious manner but i guess at the time it probably was not thought about

He played Bond very seriously in parts of TMWTGG, FYEO, OP and AVTAK. In OP he's dead serious throughout almost the entire German part of the film.

bond2002

Matt S wrote:

bond2002 wrote:

It would of been interesting to see Moore play Bond in a more serious manner but i guess at the time it probably was not thought about

He played Bond very seriously in parts of TMWTGG, FYEO, OP and AVTAK. In OP he's dead serious throughout almost the entire German part of the film.

Yeah you see bits i guess but your just waiting for another gag i probably should of explained it better

Barbel

These similar threads may be of interest:
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/45378/everyone-is-just-too-tough-on-roger-moore/
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/38015/moore-ruthless-than-you-think/
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/45098/how-did-people-respond-to-moore-as-bond/
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/37859/the-roger-moore-debate/