Bond and stardom

Spicer, Andrew

Abstract

Bond has become a modern and enduring folk hero and cultural icon, which has profound implications for the six actors who have played the role. In examining this, somewhat neglected, facet of that phenomenon – Bond and stardom – I argue that playing Bond is a particular form of stardom, the serial star, in which the character is more important than the actor. Serial stardom is essentially an industrial category that gives the company producing the films not the actor playing the role, the whip hand. The central aim of the production company, Eon Productions, is to privilege the character of Bond and ensure the continuation of the franchise, not develop a particular actor’s star persona. Rather than engage in the parlour game of ‘debating’ who is the ‘best Bond’, the keynote advances a series of variables through which we can analyse rigorously Bond stars in their dual aspect: what playing Bond meant in their careers and what they contribute to the Bond myth.
In order to provide some depth of scrutiny, one example is considered in detail: Sean Connery, who, as the ‘first’ screen Bond arguably had the most profound impact on the franchise. Connery opined: ‘I don’t think any role changes a man quite so much as Bond. It’s a cross, a privilege, a joke, a challenge. And as bloody intrusive as a nightmare’. I discuss the complexities of the actor’s relationship to the figure of Bond and its profound impact on his career, including why it took him twenty years to escape being ‘in Bondage’. Much briefer consideration is then given to the other actors who played James Bond and the differing ways in which they interpreted the role and the variable ways that performing this iconic figure had on their careers. In conclusion, I return to the central contradictions of becoming a Bond star in which the myth always exceeds any individual’s incarnation.

Citation

Spicer, A. (2022, March). Bond and stardom. Presented at Cinematic Bond at 60: National and International Perspectives

• Presentation Conference Type: Keynote
• Conference Name: Cinematic Bond at 60: National and International Perspectives
• Start Date: Mar 4, 2022
• End Date: Mar 4, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 22, 2022
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9560598