Fan's story of meeting Roger Moore proves why he was the suavest Bond: 'What a tremendous man'

The late icon Roger Moore is still fondly remembered as one of the best James Bonds we've seen. He portrayed the British secret agent in seven "James Bond" films from 1973 to 1985. When Moore died at the age of 89 in 2017 after a "short and brave" battle with lung cancer, many of his co-actors shared memories of him. However, one that stood out the most is an account from a fan who met him when he was just seven years old.

Daniel John Hannan took to Twitter to share a screenshot of a post by someone named Marc Haynes, who remembered meeting Moore at an airport as a young boy. "As a seven-year-old in about 1983, in the days before First Class Lounges at airports, I was with my grandad in Nice Airport and saw Roger Moore sitting at the departure gate, reading a paper," the post begins.

Haynes shared that he then told his grandfather that he'd seen "James Bond" and requested to go get an autograph from the actor. "My grandad had no idea who James Bond or Roger Moore were, so we walked over and he popped me in front of Roger Moore, with the words, 'my grandson says you're famous. Can you sign this?'" he wrote.

Moore was quick to ask the child's name and sign the back of his plane ticket with "a fulsome note full of best wishes." Haynes admitted that he was "ecstatic" at the time, but as they headed back to their seats, he looked at the signature and saw that it didn't say "James Bond."

"My grandad looks at it, half figures out it says 'Roger Moore' - I have absolutely no idea who that is, and my heart sinks. I tell my grandad he's signed it wrong, that he's put someone else's name - so my grandad heads back to Roger Moore, holding the ticket which he's only just signed," Haynes recounted.

Haynes went on to share that his grandfather marched back to star and "he says you've signed the wrong name. Roger Moore's face crinkled up with realization and he beckoned me over." 

Moore then shared a special secret with his young fan. "When I was by his knee, he leaned over, looked from side to side, raised an eyebrow, and in a hushed voice said to me, 'I have to sign my name as 'Roger Moore' because otherwise... Blofeld might find out I was here,'" Haynes revealed. The actor asked him not to tell anyone that he had "seen James Bond," Haynes said, "and he thanked me for keeping his secret. I went back to our seats, my nerves jangling with delight. My grandad asked me if he'd signed 'James Bond.' No, I said. I'd got it wrong. I was working with James Bond now."

Many years later, Haynes got to meet Moore again while working as a scriptwriter on a recording that involved UNICEF. "Moore was doing a piece to camera as an ambassador," he wrote in his post. "He was completely lovely and while the cameramen were setting up, I told him in passing the story of when I met him in Nice Airport. He was happy to hear it, and he had a chuckle and said 'Well, I don't remember but I'm glad you got to meet James Bond."

 
But then, while leaving, Moore did something "brilliant," Haynes recalled, "After the filming, he walked past me in the corridor, heading out to his car - but as he got level, he paused, looked both ways, raised an eyebrow, and in a hushed voice said, 'Of course, I remember our meeting in Nice. But I didn't say anything in there, because those cameramen - any one of them could be working for Blofeld.'"

Haynes said he was as "delighted" at 30 as he had been when he first met Moore at 7. He concluded, "What a man. What a tremendous man."