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Sir Roger Moore regrets cancer causing sunbathing

Nov 26, 2012, 11:03 GMT

Sir Roger Moore

Sir Roger Moore wishes he had avoided the sun when he was younger.

The former James Bond star used to maintain his bronzed glow by getting deliberately sunburnt to avoid wearing make-up on camera, and he blames his tanning addiction for his skin cancer scares.

Quizzed about what he wishes he had known at the age of 18, Roger said: 'I would have given myself a warning about having too much sunshine. I've had so many skin cancers as a result. No one thought about sun screen or creams in my younger days.

'Even when they started to give warning, I thought, 'Well, that won't happen to me'. I would get sunburned so I would not have to wear make-up in front of the cameras. Every leading man was sunburnt.'

As well as shunning sunbeds, Roger wishes he could warn his younger self about the hazards of rushing into marriage. Following three failed marriages to exotic beauty Doorn van Steyn, singer Dorothy Squires and Italian actress Luisa Mattioli, he says it was worth the wait for his 'soulmate', fourth wife Kristina Tholstrup.

'The Spy Who Loved Me' actor told The Sun newspaper: 'In Kristina, I had found my soulmate. I knew this wonderful woman could make me live again. So, if I was looking back, I would tell my old self not to rush into marriage.

'It's taken a long time to learn one simple fact - which is I wish I'd known what marriage meant when I was 18. Was I too young to get married at 19? Maybe. Marriage is a commitment and a lot of us forget how much of a commitment it is. It should also be a commitment that is a pleasure.'