'Being in bed with Roger Moore was so embarrassing. We shot the love scene time and time again': Inside the head of... Jane Seymour
Awkward moments? Well, she appeared nude in a Tom Selleck film – by mistake! And please don’t ever mention Richard Chamberlain and the breast milk...
'My real name is Joyce Frankenberg. I changed it when I was 17 – my agent told me that it was too long, too foreign and too difficult to spell... In those days no one did TV shows about Henry VIII’,' said Jane Seymour
What is your earliest memory?
I was two-and-a-half and I remember my youngest sister Annie being born and how, coincidentally, my doll had broken on the same day. Dad took it with us when we went to the hospital, saying that the nurses would take care of her. Later when we went to visit Annie, next to her was another cot with my dolly in it – fully repaired. For years after, I honestly believed that dolls were repaired at hospitals.
What sort of child were you?
I was an outsider. I wanted to be a dancer but I was born with flat feet and had to have classes in how to walk properly. In my classes I was ostracised and bullied. My nickname at school was ‘Weed’ after the character in The Flowerpot Men. It also didn’t help that I had to do special speech therapy because I couldn’t say my Rs, so I was picked on for that too.
What has been your biggest achievement?
Landing a role in the BBC drama The Onedin Line in the early Seventies. It was truly life-changing as it lead directly to the role of Solitaire in Live And Let Die. They offered me the part with no audition at all. Being in bed with Roger Moore for the love scene was so embarrassing. We had to do it so many times I fell asleep during one of the many pauses while they changed the lighting and they didn’t wake me up until they were ready to go. Someone just handed me a cup of tea – there is a picture of Roger and I sipping one in that bed.
'Being in bed with Roger Moore for the love scene was so embarrassing. We had to do it so many times I fell asleep during one of the many pauses while they changed the lighting,' said Jane of her role in Live And Let Die
What is your biggest regret?
Being brought to the brink of bankruptcy by my third husband, David Flynn, who had not only been cheating on me but had also mishandled my financial affairs. I was raising children and I needed to have money right away so I called my agent and said I will do anything, and that’s when the TV show Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman came along.
What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you?
It was less what they said and more what they did. When I was in the original production of Amadeus on Broadway I found out I was pregnant and told everyone. The whole cast and production seemed overjoyed for me, but when I came into work the next day I found someone else in my dressing room. I was going to be fired for being pregnant. It was truly shocking.
What is your biggest regret? 'Being brought to the brink of bankruptcy by my third husband,' said Jane
What has been your most embarrassing moment?
It was a screen test with Richard Chamberlain for the film The Thorn Birds. I was in pole position for the role of Meggie. However I’d just had a baby and my breasts were huge. So every day they would bind them up and I would get into my costume. Right in the middle of rehearsal, my breast milk started leaking out all over Richard Chamberlain’s bare chest. And it wasn’t just a little bit – we are talking easily a quarter of a pint. It was truly awful. I laughed, cried and had to leave immediately. I apologised a trillion times but there was nothing I could do about it, and that is why Rachel Ward became Meggie. After that, Richard put in his contract for the rest of his career that he could veto any leading lady that was submitted to him.
What is your most treasured possession?
My mum was in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II. She survived three-and-a-half horrific years in three different camps in Indonesia. During that time she kept a book that she smuggled into the camp, which she drew and wrote in. She passed away in 2007 and I treasure it.
Describe the best night of your life
When I won an Emmy for playing the part of the opera singer Maria Callas in a movie called Onassis: The Richest Man In The World because I almost died making it. I got really bad bronchitis and a doctor told me that I would need a high dose of antibiotic. A male nurse showed up in my room and tried to inject the antibiotic into my backside. But he missed and hit an artery. I immediately had a huge anaphylactic reaction and my throat began to close up and I lost consciousness. I had an out-of-body experience and could see myself lying on the table. I was resuscitated but told afterwards how close I had come to dying.
Tell us a secret about yourself
My real name is Joyce Frankenberg. I changed it when I was 17 – my agent told me that it was too long, too foreign and too difficult to spell. His nephew picked ‘Jane Seymour’ after Henry VIII’s third wife. In those days no one did TV shows about Henry or his wives so we thought no one would notice. Of course now there are lots and everyone points it out.
What is the worst job you’ve done?
I appeared nude in the film Lassiter with Tom Selleck. I didn’t want to do it but the producer said the camera would only see me from behind...
‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ starts on BBC1, Aug 13
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