The James Bond Plot That Moonraker Actor Richard Kiel Refused To Film

According to “Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films” by Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury, scenarist Christopher Wood (who’d written the warmly-received “The Spy Who Loved Me”) thought it would be amusing to give Jaws a girlfriend taller than the 7’2″ Kiel. Upon reading the script, the actor was furious and threatened to quit the movie. “I felt strongly that what they had in mind wouldn’t work for me or the audience,” said Kiel.

They ultimately addressed Kiel’s objections by going in the other direction and giving Jaws a love interest in Dolly (Blanche Ravalec), the petite young woman who rescues him from the wreckage of a collapsed cable car. After shooting the scene, Kiel recalls Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli crediting the actor with having a better idea:

“‘Cubby Broccoli was sitting with a journalist and, very loudly, so he could make sure I could hear said, ‘Richard and I had quite a falling out about this. We wanted to do it in a different way and Richard wanted to do it his way, and actually he was absolutely right.’ It was his way of letting me know he appreciated it, the fact I stood my ground and did something I knew would work.”