As expectation builds that Irish actor Aidan Turner will soon be announced as the new 007, James Bond legend Roger Moore is coming to Dublin for a public interview in November.
An Evening with Roger Moore will take place at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on Sunday November 20.
2016 tour dates announced so far: Aberdeen, Norwich, Newcastle, Dublin ... More to be announced soon. They're all fixed up.
— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) June 15, 2016
The 88-year-old will be interviewed by author Gareth Owen who worked with Moore on his acclaimed autobiography, My Word Is My Bond. After the interview, Moore will answer questions from the audience.
This will not be Moore's first visit to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre: the longtime UNICEF ambassador was a guest at the tribute event to Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the venue in 2012.
The longest serving Bond, Moore played 007 in seven films over 12 years. He announced his retirement from the iconic role after the release of 1985's A View to a Kill. However, he continues to be a keen commentator on the franchise and published the book Bond on Bond in 2012.
Moore's relationship with Ireland stretches back to the start of his acting career. In an episode of Ryan Confidential which aired in 2009, Moore told the late Gerry Ryan that he was first "spotted" by Irish director Brian Desmond Hurst who paid his fees at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and cast him in his first movie.
Moore has also appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show and Tubridy Tonight. He spoke of his love for Ireland in memoir My Word Is My Bond, and saluted the introduction of the smoking ban. "I love Ireland: great food, the Guinness, and what's more it was the first country to ban smoking in restaurants, good for them," he wrote.
Roger Moore with Gay Byrne on The Late Late Show in 1994
Tickets for the event, priced €20, are on sale now.
