George Lazenby Lied to Get His James Bond Role

George Lazenby, the one-time James Bond actor, received the part by forging his resume to the producers.

George Lazenby was not an actor; he was a model. Lazenby was not British; he was Australian. Yet somehow he secured the iconic role of James Bond for the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

How did he get this role, you ask. Well, he bald-faced lied.

According to the new book Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films by Ajay Chowdhury and Matthew Field, Lazenby told producer Harry Saltzman of his acting resume, an acting history that was completely fabricated.

The producers had been looking in multiple areas for their next Bond after Sean Connery refused to return. They had their eye on Batman actor Adam West, as well as two future Bond actors Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. But it was Lazenby, aided by his fake resume, that caught the producers’ attention.

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Lazenby went through a series of other tests to prove he was right for Bond, including simulated fight choreography with stuntmen and sleeping with women in front of an Eon employee. During the prior, he actually punched a stunt actor in the nose, causing a nosebleed.

On set, Lazenby wasn’t taken on too kindly by the crew. Getting bored, Lazenby would have firearms sent to set, and he would shoot them around the cast and crew.

Following On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, producers offered him a hefty sum to return for a second film, but Lazenby was convinced otherwise by a friend who assured him that Bond was a thing of the past, and that the counter-culture movement is where he belonged.

Because of this, producers went back to Connery and convinced him to appear in one more film, Diamonds Are Forever.

What should we make of this story? It would be easy to say that we should consider ourselves lucky that Lazenby was convinced to leave the franchise, given his mediocre acting. Then again, Connery’s return was anything but stellar, Diamonds Are Forever being a disappointing addition to the series. But the whole rift between both Bond actors and the Eon producers eventually landed us with Moore, who had a long standing tenure as the spy.

What is least surprising about this whole story is the fact that Lazenby lied about his acting abilities. It is far more surprising that the producers bought it, which On Her Majesty’s Secret Service director Peter Hunt considered to be good enough acting to give the man the role.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is not a terrible Bond film; there is a lot to enjoy in it, in fact. But Lazenby’s acting doesn’t come close to meeting the bar set by Sean Connery.

Next: Spectre Earns Golden Globe Nomination

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