20 Things You Didn’t Know About You Only Live Twice (1967)

15. Mrs James Bond

Sean Connery James Bond You Only Live Twice
MGM/UA

You Only Live Twice is the first film in which James Bond gets married, even though it is purely a ruse to smuggle him onto the rural Japanese island from which SPECTRE is operating.

He “marries“ one of Tiger Tanaka’s agents, Kissy Suzuki who lives in a fishing village. As such, Kissy had to swim onscreen; however, it was discovered that Mie Hama was not able to swim during filming due to stomach cramps.

Sean Connery’s then-wife, Australian actress, Diane Cilento - who had accompanied him to Japan - doubled for Mie Hama in her swimming scenes, wearing a black wig to cover her blonde locks.

Diane Cilento (mother of Jason Connery) became the first wife of a Bond actor to feature as a Bond Girl [she was followed by Cassandra Harris in For Your Eyes Only (1981), whose casting as the Countess Lisl von Schlaf pre-dated Pierce Brosnan’s casting as Double-0 Seven by approximately 13 years].

Cilento and Connery later separated in 1971 and were divorced in 1973.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.