Articles before names - pronunciation

[njanja]

How are the articles 'the' and 'a' pronounced in these two examples?

1 The James Bond,The Clint Eastwood.Does it have to be pronounced like 'thee' because we are talking about the movie character and actor that everyone knows about? How is 'the' pronounced if it is used before the name of a person that is not famous?

2 How is 'a' pronounced in 'a young Clint Eastwood'? Is it always necessary in examples like this or can it be left out?

[rewboss]

1. We use "the" in this situation to emphasise the fact that we're talking about a well-known person, so "the" is itself strongly emphasised (and for that reason pronounced "thee", as you say):

"My name is Bond. James Bond."
"Not the James Bond, surely?"
"Er... well no, James Bond is a fictional character and I just happen to have that name."

"I spoke with Robbie Williams yesterday."
"Yeah, nice guy, lives at number 29..."
"No, not him. I mean the Robbie Williams."
"The singer?"
"Yes. I asked him for his autograph."

It follows then that we don't use the definite article when referring to somebody who is not well-known.

2. The indefinite article is pronounced quite normally.