Roger Moore will forever be known as James Bond. But, in the wake of the actor’s death, we must memorialize one of his finest career hallmarks: “Spice World.”
British popular culture peaked in 1997 when the U.K.’s defining luminaries ― 007 and the Spice Girls ― collided. Moore played The Chief, the outlandish record executive who demanded the band work to the brink of exhaustion and delivered prattling monologues while stroking a cat, preparing a martini or feeding a bottle to his pet piglet.
After playing Bond in seven films, Moore’s “Spice World” role put a spin on the franchise’s debonair villain tropes. He channeled Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the criminal eyeing world domination with the help of a placid white feline stationed on his lap. From his sterile office, The Chief hissed cryptic commands to the Spice Girls’ manager (Richard E. Grant) via telephone, instilling fear even as his words grew more and more nonsensical.
“When the rabbit of chaos is pursued by the ferret of disorder through the fields of anarchy, it is time to hang your pants on the hook of darkness, whether they are clean or not,” Moore said in his ultimate “Spice World” riddle.
Moore was 70 when he made “Spice World” ― it was one of his final movies, and a perfect cap on a life spent in the shoes of Britain’s most iconic hero.
Before You Go
