George Robert Lazenby (born September 5, 1939) is an Australian actor best known for portraying James Bond in the 1969 James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

George Lazenby had a difficult task in filling Sean Connery’s shoes, and everything about his portrayal of Bond has been controversial.

Lazenby was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia, and served in the Australian Army Special forces and as a military unarmed combat instructor. He moved to London in 1964. He worked as a car salesman and as a model, then as an advertising actor. By 1968, he was the highest-paid male model in the world (reportedly, in 1967, he made £40,000 directly from modelling, and £60,000 from commercials and product endorsements — equivalent to more than one million pounds in 2004); he was also the European Marlboro Man.

In the 1970s, Lazenby worked in Hong Kong with Bruce Lee. Lazenby’s Hong Kong martial arts action films were very successful financially and are to this day considered classics of the genre, but without Lee the films didn’t have much commercial impact. For example, it is widely believed that all four of the planned Lee/Lazenby films would have grossed in excess of $100 million US at the box office worldwide in the early to mid 1970s (astronomical grosses in today’s dollar values), which would have even rivaled the James Bond franchise at the time. Lee’s death effectively derailed Lazenby’s would-have-been comeback after he had quit the role of James Bond in 1969.

Although he had previously worked in TV advertising and an Italian B-film spy film, Lazenby’s first serious acting role was as James Bond in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Lazenby is the second actor to portray the British secret agent in a film, following Sean Connery, who had become a cultural icon in the role (there had been a live TV version of Casino Royale in 1954 with a different actor). Lazenby had a difficult task in filling these shoes, and nearly everything about his portrayal of Bond has been controversial.

George Lazenby’s Bond is a man less amused by life than that of Sean Connery, less accessible, stoic and resigned.

The film’s producers, perhaps mistrusting Lazenby’s ability to carry the picture, took the unusual step of overdubbing Lazenby’s voice with that of George Baker in major scenes in which Bond impersonated Baker’s character. The technique had never been used in a Bond film for a leading actor whose first language was English. It was rumoured that Lazenby had been “difficult to work with.” Lazenby subsequently admitted that he had neither the maturity nor the experience to completely understand the studio system.

According to an interview with Lazenby, the difficulties were due to director Peter R Hunt refusing to talk directly to Lazenby, who was too brusque in passing on a request that Hunt’s friends clear a set before filming. There also were personality conflicts with leading lady Diana Rigg, who was an established star. However, according to Hunt, these rumours are untrue and there were no such difficulties – or else they were minor – and that he would have agreed to direct Diamonds Are Forever if Lazenby had accepted the contract.

During the film’s production, Lazenby’s manager Ronan O’Rahilly talked him into refusing a seven-film contract on grounds that the James Bond character was out of touch with the times. Lazenby later stated that he regretted the decision not to continue playing Bond.

Bond’s on-screen wedding with Tracy Draco in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. Lazenby was the lucky one.

Lazenby’s performance as James Bond is controversial. Most viewers appreciate his athletic prowess in the part, especially in action scenes, but many have been dismissive – even hostile – toward his interpretation of Bond. Moreover, viewers tend either to find Lazenby’s laconic style cold-blooded, at times callow and humourless, or else perfectly appropriate to the character of a determined and superficially charming spy. Certainly, Lazenby’s Bond is a man less amused by life than that of Connery, less accessible, stoic and resigned. This treatment was the deliberate approach of the film’s director, Peter Hunt, said in an interview: “I was very insistent that we stay with the story of the book.- Hunt re-shot scenes in which he was unhappy with Lazenby’s portrayal of emotion.”

Although the film was not as commercially successful as previous Bond films at the box office, some aficionados consider this the best film of the series, with many critics feeling Lazenby “nailed” Ian Fleming’s characterisation of 007. Commercially, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is widely believed to have paled in comparison to the previous Bond film, You Only Live Twice, and to the following, Diamonds Are Forever (both featuring Connery); this has been partly attributed to a poor publicity campaign.

Lazenby was the first actor to play Bond who was not from the UK; the second being Pierce Brosnan.

See also:

• Bond, James: Actors