Tennis star Roger Taylor claims he was set to succeed Sean Connery as James Bond
Former British tennis player Roger Taylor has revealed that he was once in contention to leave his sporting career behind and take on the iconic role of James Bond, succeeding Sean Connery in playing the part.
Taylor, who is now 83 years old, admitted his brush with Hollywood in his latest autobiography, The Man Who Saved Wimbledon, explaining that he was approached after playing the final of London’s Queens Club tournament in 1967.
With the film’s producer Richard Maybourne watching in the crowds, Taylor said “I assumed this was some kind of a wind-up” when he was offered an audition, before conceding: “But I was keen to explore the options despite never having set foot on a stage before or done any acting.”
After passing the first test, Taylor, who in his tennis career reached three Wimbledon semi-finals in 1967, 1970, and 1973, was invited to a second audition at Pinewood Studios, where he would have been made to change into a swimsuit.
However, the tennis star objected to this on behalf of his then-wife Francis, who disapproved of the request.
Despite this, he noted in his new book: “I’m often asked how much I regret not making more of the opportunity and still laugh at some of the reports from those days which referred to me as the James Bond of tennis.”
Eventually, the role of Bond went to the Australian model and actor George Lazenby, who made his debut in the spy franchise in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
However, Taylor also revealed that he ran into Lazenby later in life, explaining: “A few years on, I was in California, sitting at a bar. Next to me was a guy who looked like a broken man. Very much the worse for wear. It was Lazenby! I wondered if maybe I’d had a lucky escape after all.”
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