How George Lazenby became James Bond’s biggest diva
Who’s your favourite James Bond actor? Most people would say, Sean Connery, the original 007, or Daniel Craig, the one who revolutionised the series for a modern audience. But there are some among us who celebrate the Australian actor George Lazenby, the Bond actor who took on the role just once in his career, appearing in the celebrated 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service., as the greatest to ever do it.
Lazenby’s first and only 007 adventure came sandwiched between two Connery movies, You Only Live Twice in 1967 and Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. Being the only actor ever to take the role of Bond who wasn’t from Great Britain or Ireland, his solo adventure is memorable for more reasons than one, giving Bond one of his most interesting trips yet, with the 1969 flick being set in the mountains of the Swiss alps.
Whilst he was remembered as one of the most classy actors to take on the role in the mind of fans across the world, his fellow cast and crew members from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service remember him quite differently.
An infamous industry diva, Lazenby refused to sign up for a seven-film deal after his manager and close friend, Ronan O’Rahilly, told him that he should just make one and then “get out”, but this was merely the start of his somewhat prickly demeanour. Seeing himself as a bonafide movie star, having taken the celebrated role of James Bond out of the hands of Sean Connery, Lazenby began acting like some of Hollywood’s biggest divas.
When cars were sent to collect the actor on the mornings of the film shoot, Lazenby would send them away if he was not fond of the colour and would later demand that a car was to drive him 50 yards from his dressing room to the Pinewood restaurant. Such brattish behaviour was followed by puerile pranks, Lazenby’s behaviour frustrating his co-star and movie love interest, Diana Rigg.
Speaking back in 1970, the late actor discussed her time on the set of the Bond film, accusing Lazenby of “constantly storming off the set, turning up late and sulking”. Continuing, she added, “As far as money is concerned, George, let’s face it: £22,000 for your first film – with perks thrown in – cannot be a hardship,” adding that she was not surprised that the producer’s struggled to cope with his “demands for more money, bigger chauffeur-driven cars, grander apartments, etc”.
Following the completion of the movie, Lazenby was offered $1 million to play Bond again, but he turned down the generous wage, demanding double. For the Australian, the struggle to maintain the Bond persona off-screen was simply too demanding, and when he showed up to the premiere of the Bond film dressed as a hippie with shaggy hair, it was clear that he had little interest in reprising the role.
The latest James Bond actor has yet to be announced after Craig left the franchise following the release of No Time to Die in 2021 but one imagines that such behaviour of comparatively unknown actors won’t be tolerated again.
