After starring in five James Bond movies as special agent 007, Sean Connery was replaced by Australian actor George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The 1969 film was the only Bond film Lazenby made, although he was offered to do many more. So why didn’t he accept?
Here’s more on that and why Connery said his fellow Bond actor behaved like “a fucking prize.”
Lazenby was offered a contract to make 7 Bond movies
When Connery told the producers that he was leaving the role of Bond after you only live twice, were on the hunt for another actor to play the suave secret agent. It was then that Lazenby, who had become known for starring in a chocolate commercial, auditioned and got the part.
At the time, director Peter R Hunt said, “We wanted someone who exudes sexual confidence, and we think this guy has that.”
Lazenby was then offered a contract to make seven more Bond films, but surprised everyone when he quit a month earlier. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service he was even released. He called the Bond films and the role of the title character “old-fashioned” and claimed that the producers treated him poorly, but admitted: “My parents think I’m crazy, they all think I’m crazy.”
Connery said Lazenby behaved like a ‘fucking prizewinner’
So what went wrong to push Lazenby to give up such a coveted role?
In 2015, Connery gave his opinion on what happened. Poor Lazenby couldn’t do [it] because he just didn’t have the experience, even though the director, Peter Hunt, was quoted as saying he had taught Lazenby everything he knew,” Connery said (per Express).
“Lazenby couldn’t do a good job because you have to have technique to get the character right,” the Scottish star explained, adding, “I know he behaved like a f***ing prize, turning people away from what they say to me, but It wasn’t all his fault.
Lazenby admitted he was wrong about Bond’s relevance, but was never able to rebuild his career
Despite Lazenby’s view that the role and character were outdated, each Bond film went on incredibly well at the box office, while Lazenby struggled for years to find work after his only Bond role. She later admitted that she “acted stupid” during the making of that movie and eventually landed a few small screen roles in a handful of TV shows like Baywatch, hawaii five-0y Hospital General.
In the 2017 documentary Making Link, Lazenby reflected on it all saying, “Do I have any regrets? Only when I was broke… But I thought about what my life would be like if it continued. He would have had three wives in Beverly Hills, mansions, and he would have been a drug addict. I thought, well, I think I did the right thing.”
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