Could this be the next James Bond?

I still remember the first time I heard the name James Bond. It was a Sunday night and there was going to be school the next day. My younger brothers were already in bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I crept downstairs where I saw my dad watching the Sunday night late movie on one of the TV networks. I timidly slid around the corner to see what the movie was and I was. caught. I thought my dad would be angry because it was a school night. But instead of chasing me back to bed he invited me to sit down for the movie. I remember climbing into my favorite red cushion rocking chair and took a handful of popcorn.

Immediately I felt my heart race as the signature gun barrel appeared on the screen. I instantly knew I was in for something special.

Although at the time I didn’t know it but the title of the movie was Diamonds Are Forever. I had never heard of James Bond or Sean Connery instantly his cool and charisma had my attention. Although at the time I didn’t remember all the details of the opening sequence (which I’ve since revisited at least 23 times – by the way I am not making that up. That’s the counter of what just my iTunes says for my watch history on Diamonds Are Forever. I know I’ve seen it at least a dozen more than that.) but the one thing I definitely remember about the opening sequence was where James Bond discovers the cosmetic surgery doubles of his nemesis, Blofeld.

From this very moment I became a hard core James Bond fan. No kidding as a 7 year old kid I bought the vinyl Album of the Diamonds are Forever soundtrack with my allowance. I convinced my grade 2 music teacher to play and sing the Goldfinger theme song so I could record it on a tape recorder. And at every sleep I had with friends at birthday parties or any other occasion everyone knew that to keep me happy one of the movie rentals had to be a James Bond film.

I owned a Walther PPK and a few other toy guns that looked like weapons James Bond would use. And many of my pictures as a young boy included those guns in James Bond Style poses. I’m sure my mother really worried about me.

I think in the above picture I was around 9.

One of my favorite experiences that still makes me smile was a visit to try and get into the movie theater to see A VIEW TO A KILL. I went with my friend Jason. The movie had a rating in my home country of Canada of PG-14. Which means in order to get into the theater without your parents you needed to be over 14. I was not. But I conjointly went with Jason to see the movie. I paid for my ticket and started in. When he went to buy a ticket he tried to save a few bucks by trying to tell the ticket agent that he was under 13 and should pay the rate for a children’s ticket, saving 50 cents. Ultimately he didn’t get into the movie – I did.

I remember a sleep over in my early teens that I convinced all my friends to rent Moonraker and after everyone had gone to bed I stayed up even later to watch it a second time. (One of the best experiences of my life is when I met and became close friends with Richard Kiel who played the Bond villain JAWS. We became such good friends we even cowrote a book together. We used to regularly have long talks about Richards days as JAWS and his other adventures in Hollywood. I miss him. He passed away in 2013.) Maybe just a quick note on the first time I met Richard. Some people get nervous when they first meet him because he is so tall and big. (For example in the picture below Richard is sitting down and I am standing up.) When I first saw him I was nervous because I remembered how he had treated James Bond. Lol. We became friends and Richard was anything but a villain.

My James Bond continued through my teens. Before my 16th birthday I’d read all of the original novels written by James Bond creator Ian Fleming. I’d seen every movie up to that point at least a dozen times or more.

I continued to be a James Bond fan through my teens and even made several movies with my school mates. Perhaps it was here that I started getting involved in stunts. Below is the only stunt picture I have from that time. Something I remember specifically about this film is that inside the car we were playing the cassette tape for The LIVING DAYLIGHTS loud enough to give me that added courage boost while I was on top of this vehicle without any safety equipment.

I will certainly be sharing much more about my love for James Bond in the future. But I am so proud of the legacy the James Bond team has been able to continue with. There are so many spy stories and character now appearing in the cinema. But my heart will allows remain with and cheer for James Bond. They created the genre and Broccoli family has been such wonderful guardians of this incredible treasure. I don’t think anyone can measure how James Bond has impacted the lives of people worldwide. He is an important cultural fixture that must be protected and cherished.

Naturally if I had one wish as an actor it would be to one day have the opportunity to portray James Bond. I have many ideas on how I would do it. But one thing is certain James Bond is the original gentleman spy that has always led the way in creative and daring movies. The James Bond series holds more records and first time positions for nail biting stunts. They have set trends in fashion. They have altered the way people dress, order drinks, purchase watches, select cars and even interact with the opposite sex. (I have one friend who approached a girl in his best James Bond style and now they are married.)

In response to my dream to play James Bond I have played many similar roles. But alas none of those was Bond. But here are some shots of what it might look like if I were to play James Bond.

This certainly won’t be the last time I post about James Bond. But a great way to end this blog post might be to share a shot from Pinewood studios form about a week ago. I can’t say too much about what happened while I was there, but one of my favorite moments was to visit the Sean Connery Stage. I feels like things are coming full circle.

What a blessing it has been to have James Bond in my life. I hope you feel the same.

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