George Lazenby

George Robert Lazenby (born 5 September 1939) is an Australian actor.

George Robert Lazenby was born on 5 September 1939 in Goulburn, New South Wales, at Ovada Private Hospital, to railway worker George Edward Lazenby and Sheila Joan Lazenby (née Bodel), who worked at a Fosseys retail store.

He went to Goulburn Public School in his primary years, and Goulburn High School until 1954.

His sister, Barbara, was an accomplished dancer.

When he was young he spent 18 months in hospital after having an operation which left him with only half a kidney.

When Lazenby was about 14 he moved with his family from Goulburn to Queanbeyan, where his father ran a store.

He served in the Australian Army, then afterwards worked as a car salesman and mechanic.

Lazenby moved to London in 1963 to pursue a woman with whom he had fallen in love.

He became a used-car salesman in Finchley, and subsequently sold new cars in Park Lane, where he was spotted by a talent scout who persuaded him to become a model.

He was soon earning £25,000 a year (£ today).

He was widely known for an advertisement for Fry's chocolate bars.

In 1966, he was voted Top Model of the Year.

In 1968, after Sean Connery had left the role of James Bond, producer Albert R. Broccoli met Lazenby for the first time while they were getting their hair cut at the same barbershop.

Broccoli later saw him in the Big Fry commercial and felt he could possibly be a Bond, on which basis he invited him to do a screen test.

Lazenby dressed for the part by sporting several sartorial Bond elements such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a Savile Row suit, which had been ordered, but not collected, by Connery.

Broccoli offered him an audition.

The position was consolidated when Lazenby accidentally punched a professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face, impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression.

Director Peter R. Hunt later said:"We wanted someone who oozed sexual assurance, and we think this fellow has that. Just wait till the women see him on screen ... I am not saying he is an actor. There is a great deal of difference between an actor and a film star. Didn't they find Gary Cooper when he was an electrician?"

He was the second actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).

Having appeared in only one film, Lazenby's tenure as Bond is the shortest among the actors in the series.

Beginning his professional career as a model, Lazenby had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace original Bond actor Sean Connery.

In July 1969, after making On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Lazenby returned home to Queanbeyan to see his parents.

He said he had 18 films to consider.

"But it's all commercial rubbish, such as the guy getting the girl at the end of the Battle of Britain," he said.

"I'll just have to wait and see."

He also told the press "I don't think I'm ready for anything like Hamlet yet but I'd love to play Ned Kelly."

Lazenby said he intended to make the next Bond film, which was to be The Man with the Golden Gun.

However, by November 1969, and prior to the release of OHMSS, Lazenby said he no longer wished to play another Bond role, saying, "The producers made me feel like I was mindless. They disregarded everything I suggested simply because I hadn't been in the film business like them for about a thousand years."

His co-star Diana Rigg was among many who commented on this decision:"The role made Sean Connery a millionaire. It made Sean Connery ... I truly don't know what's happening in George's mind so I can only speak of my reaction. I think it's a pretty foolish move. I think if he can bear to do an apprenticeship, which everybody in this business has to do – has to do – then he should do it quietly and with humility. Everybody has to do it. There are few instant successes in the film business. And the instant successes one usually associates with somebody who is willing to learn anyway."

Rigg was also quoted as saying, "I can no longer cater for his obsession with himself. He is utterly, unbelievably ... bloody impossible."

"I draw a veil over the chap," said Desmond Llewelyn (who played Q in 17 Bond films).

"How can you expect someone who's never acted before ... to take on a leading role?"

Lazenby grew a beard and long hair.

"Bond is a brute ... I've already put him behind me. I will never play him again. Peace – that's the message now," he announced.

He said: "I much prefer being a car salesman to a stereotyped James Bond. My parents think I'm insane, everybody thinks I'm insane passing up maybe millions of pounds. Nobody believed me. They thought it was a publicity stunt. But it's just me doing my own thing."

He later elaborated:"Fantasy doesn't interest me. Reality does. Anyone who's in touch with the kids knows what's happening, knows the mood. Watch pop music and learn what's going to happen. Most film-makers don't watch and aren't in touch. People aren't going to films because film-makers are putting out films people don't want to see. As for the so-called 'Tomorrow movies' they are only tomorrow movies with yesterday directors ... Actors aren't all that important. Directors are. I'm terribly impressed with Dennis Hopper. I'd like to work for him. I also like Arthur Penn, John Schlesinger and Peter Yates ... What I'm going to do is look for a great director first, a good screenplay second. Meanwhile, no more Bond. I make better money doing commercials."

He declined to return in subsequent Bond films and instead pursued roles in films throughout the 1970s that included Universal Soldier (1971), Who Saw Her Die? (1972), The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss (1974), The Man from Hong Kong (1975) and The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977).

After his career stalled during this period, he moved into business and invested in real estate.

Lazenby later appeared in roles that parodied the James Bond character.

In 2017, a Hulu docudrama film, Becoming Bond, featured Lazenby recounting his life story and portrayal of Bond.