A Conversation With Tanya Roberts
James Bond's shapely geologist girlfriend from the film A VIEW TO A KILL
Tanya Roberts dropped in for a quick interrogation and reflected on her tenure as Bond girl Stacey Sutton. Still as beautiful as ever, Ms. Roberts continues to look forward to new challenges.
Dr. Shatterhand: Welcome to The Question Room, Tanya. Tell me it’s been 20 years since you were selected to play the role of Stacey Sutton in A VIEW TO A KILL.
Tanya Roberts: Thanks for rubbing it in. (laughter)
DS: Were you up against any competition from other actresses?
TR: I was in London doing Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, we were doing the studio interior work. Cubby Broccoli, who was a generous man, had seen me on television in a film called Beastmaster and he just offered me the role.
DS: So you had no competition at all.
TR: No! As far as I know. It’s one of those things.
Roger Moore as James Bond and Tanya prepare to enter Zorin's mineshaft in A VIEW TO A KILL.
DS: How did Roger Moore treat you?
TR: Great! He’s a really sweet man always with a sense of humor.
DS: He’s known to be a practical joker on the sets.
TR: Yes, he never did any practical jokes on me but it was a pleasure, a real pleasure to work with.
DS: You are known among fans as the "Bond Girl Scream Queen"
TR: Really? (laughing)
Tanya Roberts tries to stay cool during the fiery elevator scene.
DS: Because of your fiery elevator scene.
TR: That’s because we were getting our asses burned up.
DS: Looking back at your role, would you have done anything different?
TR: Oh, well you do what you do. You make mistakes but I don’t even get that deep into roles to think that way. I’m just thinking forward man, forward.
Tanya Roberts as Stacey Sutton in 1985's A VIEW TO A KILL
DS: Was the work atmosphere on A VIEW TO A KILL stressful or light?
TR: It was pretty light. It was fun, and my husband came along and we shot outside of Paris, and in London, on the OO7 Stage in Pinewood Studios, eventually in San Francisco and in Iceland. So it was great and we lived in London for about four months. One of the things I remember from behind the scenes was Cubby trying to give up smoking the whole time and he did actually. He did give it up during shooting and Barbara, his daughter gave up smoking a few years later too.
DS: Bond director, John Glen, wrote a book recently titled FOR MY EYES ONLY and in the chapter on the making of A VIEW TO A KILL (page 159) he says he rang up ‘Sheena’ director John Guillermin to ask his opinion about you. Guillermin said that you might not be the best actress in the world but you were undoubtedly very beautiful. When John Glen finally met you face to face, he was struck by how incredible your deep blue eyes were. Wondering if you wore contacts he asked you, ‘Are they real?’ And to his surprise you clutched your breasts saying ‘Of course they are!’
TR: (laughing) Bull! I don’t believe that story.
Director John Glen and his autobiography FOR MY EYES ONLY.
DS: It’s in his book!
TR: Really? Well, he was fun to work with and did you know he was the editor for many of the previous Bond films. Yeah he was nice but no, no I never wore contact lenses. That’s a weird story.
DS: What’s your opinion of the current crop of Bond films with Pierce Brosnan.
TR: Oh great. They’re fun. There’s always action and beautiful women. Lots of sophisticated gizmos.
DS: Do you think they have gone too far to the fantasy side?
TR: They’re different, but times have changed. Movies such as Spiderman are so fantastic in scope that Bond has to keep up with them.
Dr. Shatterhand bonding with Tanya at the Gaithersburg Antique & Collectible Show.
DS: What are you working on nowadays?
TR: I’m working on ‘That 70’s Show’, and we’re in our sixth season. I have been offered some roles but at the moment my husband is still recovering from a long illness. He got encephalitis two days before 9/11. I had to leave the show in the fourth season to take care of him. He’s still in a wheelchair, but he’s gotten a lot better, his mind is real good and he will eventually be able to walk again. He’s my best friend. We’ve been married 20 years.
DS: Thank you for sharing some of your memories.
TR: Well thank you for allowing me to drop in.