The ‘Bond girl’ who hated her 007 with a passion: “Most of the crew were hostile”
The notoriety of the James Bond franchise does not exclude it from scrutiny and off-screen drama, with countless stories from behind the scenes that do not match the suave and effortless demeanour of the lead character.
Whether it be the disapproving comments made by Daniel Craig about the demanding nature of the role that proved to be very stressful or the many women who have spoken up about the misogynistic writing of their characters, the series has sparked many conversations about the limiting gender roles that are evident within the Bond universe and the double-edged sword of appearing within it. However, while controversy has often arisen through discussions about the creative decisions and the story itself, there have rarely been feuds between the co-stars of the series itself, besides one infamous clash between Diana Rigg and George Lazenby on the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was the sixth instalment to the franchise, following the secret agent as he follows his archnemesis to the Swiss Alps where he is training an army of women, accidentally falling in love with an Italian contessa called Tracy Draco, who is the only women to marry Bond in the franchise.
Despite a sizzling on-screen chemistry that fooled fans into thinking they were very fond of each other, there were rumours that Rigg and Lazenby hated each other in real life. The chemistry felt between them was perhaps due to their intense loathing, and not at all due to an organic romanticism between them.
After the film was released in 1969, there were reports about a bitter feud between the pair while on set, with headlines that described Rigg eating copious amounts of garlic before her love scenes with Lazenby in order to make his job harder. However, Rigg was quick to dispute these claims, defending her reputation and experience on set by describing her fraught relationship with Lazeny and his behaviour towards herself and the crew.
When asked about this, Rigg said, “I’m tired of reading those paranoid statements to the press wherein you were solely surrounded by hostile people. I agree that by the end of the film most of the crew were hostile, but only because of your extreme behaviour. Why else would your dresser threaten to hand in his notice? Why else would three chauffeurs leave you within a week? Why else was one member of the unit restrained from striking you after one inexcusable and crude outburst against one of the girls in the film?”
While many of the rumours were targeting Rigg as the being responsible for the hostility between the pair, her statements very much imply that Lazenby was the person creating so much upset during production, with comments about how his behaviour caused people to quit their jobs and made for an unpleasant working environment.
Sadly, this isn’t a story we haven’t heard before, and even in recent years, with the likes of the Blake Lively case during the production of It Ends With Us, we are still seeing cases about the abuse of power within Hollywood and unsafe filming practices. While the experience of starring in the Bond franchise comes across as a glamorous ordeal and a colossal opportunity, there is still much to be gleaned from Rigg’s experience and the work that needs to be done to ensure that the smoothness of the character matches the experiences of those behind the scenes.
