Roger Green and his Bachelor grandson, Arthur. Photo / Michael Craig
Roger Green and his Bachelor grandson, Arthur. Photo / Michael Craig
Arthur Green may be the star of The Bachelor NZ but it was his grandfather who got to deliver entertainment's ultimate playboy line: "The name's Bond, James Bond."
The Herald on Sunday has obtained the original screen-test of Arthur's grandfather, Roger Green, auditioning to become Sean Connery's replacement as the iconic secret agent in the Oscar-nominated 1971 movie Diamonds are Forever.
Auditioning at the UK's Pinewood Studios opposite Avengers actress Imogen Hassall — known as "The Countess of Cleavage" — the 16mm footage reveals the slick Aucklander nailing the scene in one take.
The footage also shows the strong family resemblance between Roger and Arthur — whose reality TV finale screens on Wednesday night.
"It was a life experience I will never forget. I fell into acting and it was something I did for seven years. I was swanning around doing nothing, as you do when you're a sheep farmer in London on an OE, and there was plenty of drinking, plenty of partying and plenty of women," 77-year-old Roger Green told the
Herald on Sunday
.
"I used to get up to all sorts of pranks, some people said I actually was James Bond."
Green was told by director Guy Hamilton he had a great chance of landing the role. "At that point I thought, 'give me another brandy', because anyone who plays Bond becomes a world star."
He missed his chance at global fame when Connery signed on to continue in the role.
Agreeing he and his grandson have a lot in common, Roger, who was a Junior All Black in 1958, says he's tremendously proud of Arthur — and many are picking up the likeness.
Roger Green's Bond audition.
"A good friend who I went to school with rang me the other day after watching Art on the show and said he thought he was watching me," he said.
"I'm proud of him, he's a bit like me. I fell into this thing in London after a friend of mine who became my agent said, 'I think you'd make a good Bond.' I just went along with the flow. Art kind of got involved in this the same way.
"I suppose the whole entertainment thing comes quite naturally to us. We're showmen and I think it's great. I believe Art has handled it brilliantly."
Arthur says he and his grandfather share a confident approach to life and being in the spotlight is something they have embraced.
Sean Connery as James Bond.
But the reality TV star, whose show has seen 21 Kiwi lasses vying to win his heart, says he is looking forward to this week's finale so that he can shed his "secret life" and be seen in public with a woman on his arm.
"No more secrets.
"It's going to be great to have a normal relationship because at the moment it's like having a secret life with the girl that I've chosen."
