23/05/2026
“Moonraker (1979) wasn’t just the biggest Bond film of its era — it was the moment James Bond fully escaped Earth and became pure cinematic mythology.”
This extraordinary behind-the-scenes photograph from Moonraker captures something the finished movie itself rarely slowed down enough to reveal:
The humanity behind the spectacle.
Standing together beneath the studio lights of Pinewood are three unforgettable faces from one of the most ambitious Bond productions ever attempted — Richard Kiel, Lois Chiles, and Roger Moore.
And together, they represent three completely different pieces of what made Moonraker so iconic.
At the center towers Richard Kiel as Jaws — perhaps the most physically unforgettable villain in Bond history. By 1979, Jaws had already evolved beyond a simple henchman into something almost mythological: a giant steel-toothed monster audiences somehow feared and loved at the same time.
But off-camera, Kiel was famously the complete opposite of his terrifying screen persona.
Warm.
Gentle.
Soft-spoken.
Stories from Bond casts and crews constantly described him as one of the kindest men ever associated with the franchise. That contrast became part of Jaws’ strange magic — cinema’s most intimidating giant hiding the personality of a lovable teddy bear beneath the metal teeth.
Even today, decades after his passing in 2014, Richard Kiel remains one of the most universally beloved Bond actors ever.
Beside him stands Lois Chiles as Dr. Holly Goodhead — one of the smartest and most professionally credible Bond women of the Roger Moore era.
Unlike many earlier Bond heroines written mainly around glamour or seduction, Holly Goodhead was introduced as a NASA astronaut and scientist capable of matching Bond intellectually. In many ways, she reflected the late-1970s shift toward more capable and independent female characters in blockbuster cinema.
And Lois Chiles brought an understated elegance to the role that fit perfectly beside Roger Moore’s sophisticated Bond style.
Even today, now in her late seventies, Chiles still carries the quiet grace and refined beauty that made her unforgettable during the height of the Bond franchise’s global dominance.
Then there is Roger Moore himself.
By Moonraker, Moore had completely settled into the role of 007 with astonishing ease. His Bond no longer relied on the raw danger Sean Connery projected. Instead, Moore transformed Bond into something uniquely his own:
Charming.
Playful.
Effortlessly relaxed under pressure.
And Moonraker pushed that version of Bond further than ever before.
Inspired partly by the massive sci-fi success of Star Wars, the film became the most extravagant Bond adventure ever made at the time — sending 007 into outer space with laser battles, giant space stations, and globe-spanning spectacle unlike anything earlier Bond films had attempted.
Critics were divided.
Some loved the insanity.
Others thought the franchise had gone too far into fantasy.
But financially, Moonraker became an enormous success and one of Roger Moore’s biggest Bond triumphs worldwide.
Because audiences in 1979 didn’t simply want realism.
They wanted escape.
And Moonraker delivered pure escapist spectacle at maximum scale.
Looking back today, this photograph feels strangely emotional because two of the three legends inside it are now gone forever.
Roger Moore passed away in 2017.
Richard Kiel passed away in 2014.
Only Lois Chiles remains — a living connection to one of the wildest and most unapologetically ambitious eras in Bond history.
Yet every time Moonraker plays again…
Richard Kiel still smiles with giant-child warmth behind the steel teeth.
Roger Moore still raises an eyebrow with effortless cool.
And Lois Chiles still walks through the film with timeless elegance beneath the stars.
One clapperboard.
Three legends.
And one Bond film daring enough to leave Earth itself behind.
#007
