Funeral in Berlin (1966)Director: Guy Hamilton

Q: In 1965’s The Ipcress File, you played a secret agent who wears glasses.  Is it true that the studio was afraid you looked too gay? 

A:  To wear glasses wasn’t really butch, you know.  And the other thing was that I cooked a meal for a woman.  And they go, “Jesus Christ, they’re gonna think he’s a fag.”  And there was all this hullabaloo where in actual fact it turned out to be just the opposite.  Women were fascinated by a man who would cook a meal for a woman. 

Q.  Would you have made a good James Bond? 

A:  Me?  No, no, I don’t think so.  I don’t like all that driving cars and running around and jumping about all over the place.  I’m quite lazy. 

Q.  You’re six feet two.  When you got to Hollywood, were you surprised by how short everyone was? 

A.  The first bloke I met was Rock Hudson.  He was six feet four.  And my other great friend was John Wayne.  We were all about the same size.  John Wayne became my sort of foster father in Hollywood, always giving me advice.  He’d say, “Talk low and talk slow, and don’t say too much if you want to be a big movie star.”  I then made four pictures in high voice talking at great speed.