Last weekend, the world lost a true legend when Sean Connery, who originated the role of the British secret agent James Bond in the 1960s, passed away at the age of 90. Barbara Carrera, who starred alongside Connery in the 1983 James Bond movie Never Say Never Again, is speaking out this week to recall her memories of working with the actor, and she will especially never forget kissing him.
“He was absolutely a great kisser,” Carrera, 74, told Fox News. “Everything that has been said about him is true.”
“But he was also a gentleman,” she added. “And you knew his wife was on set at all moments. He was very vigilant. So the idea of stealing kisses did not occur to us. But the scene was so sacred, so pure. It was so special to me.”
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However, Carrera went on to say that kissing Connery was not always so simple.
“I remember were filming our kissing scene,” she recalled. “We looked up and there was [his wife] Micheline staring right back at us. It took us right out of the scene. So, Sean had her taken off the set. We laughed about that a lot after filming was long over. Micheline had a great sense of humor about the whole thing.”
Carrera had initially been offered to star in the 1983 James Bond movie Octopussy, which starred Roger Moore as the British secret agent. When she heard Connery was returning to the role for Never Say Never Again, however, she opted to do that movie instead even though her role would be smaller.
“The minute I learned Sean Connery was coming back to do another Bond film, I just knew I had to do it,” Carrera explained. “It was a film that everyone really wanted to see. So I agreed to it without thinking twice, without ever seeing a script. I just wanted to work with my hero. He was my Bond. He was the one I grew up with. So it was too incredible of an opportunity for me to turn down.”
“Sean Connery is Bond,” she added. “He had a magnetism about him that just drew you in. He was a man’s man. He was the kind of person that men wanted to emulate. And women wanted to be dominated by him. He was the quintessential James Bond. I think all the other Bonds have tried to capture that certain magic he had, but it’s just something that can’t be duplicated. It belongs to him and only him alone.”
The actress said she had a hard time melting when Connery first walked on set.
“When I looked in his eyes, I saw Bond,” she remembered. “It was hard to separate the man from the character. But as I got to know him, I saw things about him that were not totally Bondish. He was a very sensitive man. He appreciated music when we weren’t filming. And even though I was very nervous, he was always patient and kind to me. I never forgot how he made me feel. It was magical.”
After filming wrapped, Carerra said that she and Connery stayed in touch over the years.
“Whenever he was in town, we would get together,” she said. “The last time I saw him and his wife was in Los Angeles at the Four Seasons hotel. He was running away from some women chasing him. It’s been 10 years since I last spoke to him. You know how it is with these things. You don’t see a friend for a decade and then when you get together it’s as if time stood still. That was our kind of friendship over the years.”
Though Carrera was saddened to hear of Connery’s passing, she added that he will live on forever in the hearts of his millions of fans.
“I think his role as Bond will live on forever,” Carrera concluded. “He had this special quality on-screen. You never knew if he was going to kiss you or kill you. It was the greatest thrill of my life. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with such a great actor and a great person like Sean. He’s going to be missed. I know I will always miss him.”
This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.
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