Adrienne Barbeau Remembers Being ‘Starstruck’ Working with ‘Movie Star’ Roger Moore on 1981’s “The Cannonball Run ”(Exclusive)

Angela AndaloroThu, October 15, 2026 at 3:43 PM UTC

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Adrienne Barbeau circa 1980; and Roger Moore in February 1981Credit: THA/Shutterstock; Keith Hamshere/Getty -

Adrienne Barbeau got her start in musical comedies on Broadway before transitioning to television and film

The actress, 81, recently caught up with PEOPLE and shared some memories of filming 1981’s Cannonball Run

Barbeau opened up about feeling “starstruck” working with costar Roger Moore

Adrienne Barbeau has worked with many of the greats.

The actress, 81, recently caught up with PEOPLE as she promoted her new film, Oddities. As she reminisced about some of the most interesting people she’s collaborated with during her decades-long career, she remembered the one time she found herself starstruck on set.

“You know who I loved working with, but then we didn’t have any scenes together? Roger Moore. Because I was starstruck! We were doing The Cannonball Run together and we were in Lancaster in the middle of the desert. Roger, who was always, I think, if I remember correctly, wearing a white suit which was always impeccably clean,” she recalls.

Roger Moore as James Bond in ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’Credit: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Barbeau recalled a moment that allowed the two time to chat, a prospect that was both exciting and nerve-wracking for her at the time.

“The air conditioning on his trailer went out, and he asked if he could come sit in my trailer, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to talk to Roger about? This movie star, what am I going to talk to Roger about?’ And he was such a sweetheart,” she says.

Cast of ‘The Cannonball Run’Credit: Silver Screen Collection/Getty

The 1981 action comedy about a group of drivers participating in an outlawed cross-country road race featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Chan, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin.

While talking to PEOPLE, Barbeau also shouted out another member of the Cannonball Run cast who she enjoyed spending time with.

“Dom DeLuise was fantastic. Dom is one of the all time, really good people,” she shares.

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From originating Rizzo in Grease on Broadway to introducing America to the divorced single mom in Maude, Barbeau has had a fascinating career. One of her biggest points of pride is getting along well with the people she’s shared the stage and screen with.

“I started in television and film in, let’s say 1972. In all those years, I can think of maybe five people that I’ve worked with that I wouldn’t want to work with again,” Barbeau reveals. “There are four or five that I don’t think I want to be on the same stage with.”

“I mean, I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve worked with just some wonderful people — Kurt Russell, Donald Pleasence, Bea, of course,” she continues. “Hal Holbrook, Fritz Weaver... Rodney Dangerfield was just a joy to work with. He was just a trip.”

Adrienne Barbeau at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain on Oct. 11, 2026Credit: Borja B. Hojas/Getty

That continues with her latest project, Tyler Savage’s Oddities, which was recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

The horror film’s logline reads, “When two self-destructive best friends accidentally kill their drug dealer, they have to flee town. Stopping at a roadside antique shop, they quickly discover that the older woman running the place isn’t as sweet as she seems.”

“I love the project. I love the director,” Barbeau says. “We had done a short film during the pandemic with the same title. I did the short film and based on the fact that I thought it was a really great script and fell in love with the director and the DP.”

She adds, “I think it’s some of the best work I’ve ever done as a result of working with a director that I trust as much as I trusted John or Wes Craven or George Romero, and it’s a good film.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”