George Lazenby Once Felt the New James Bond Had No Heart
James Bond actor George Lazenby once criticized the newer iteration of Bond. To the actor, his Bond was much more human than the 007 of today.
George Lazenby once revealed he became James Bond so he could get laid more
Lazenby’s journey to Bond was perhaps the most unconventional process compared to the other James Bonds. At the time, Lazenby had little to no intention to enter the film industry.
“First of all, I wasn’t an actor. I had no desire to be an actor — I just took this on as a challenge and quite liked it,” he once told USA Today.
Despite lacking experience, Lazenby was able to acquire the role by lying his way to the top.
“I was playing hard to get,” Lazenby recalled in an interview with Men’s Journal. “I told them I was doing a movie in Paris, which was complete bullshit. I just made myself irresistible. I copied Sean Connery’s look to a T, and even went to his tailor to get one of his suits.”
Connery was one of his main reasons for pursuing the role so passionately. His second reason was women. But unfortunately for Lazenby, becoming Bond did little to help him with the latter.
“I looked up to Sean Connery as an actor, and I thought that I would get laid a lot more. The strange thing is it actually had the opposite effect. Short hair and suits didn’t get you laid in the late 1960s. Everyone was wearing bell-bottoms,” he said.
George Lazenby felt the new James Bond had no heart
Lazenby’s stint as the 007 agent wasn’t long. He’d only starred in the film Her Majesty’s Secret Service before leaving the franchise. The actor assumed the world had simply moved on from Bond.
“They offered me millions under the table to do another one, but I thought James Bond was over. Easy Rider was the number one movie. Everyone was smoking marijuana, and that was the furthest thing from a James Bond movie. So I didn’t sign the contract,” he once told Entertainment Weekly (via HuffPost)
Over the years, other actors like Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig have succeeded him as Bond. But to Lazenby, there were certain traits his Bond had that the newer Bonds were missing. For one, Lazenby felt his movie made Bond more believable.
“It’s the only film that treats him like a human being. He’s not a robot killer like the latest Bond…when I did it, it had more heart. There’s no heart to the new Bond,” he believed.
Why being a former James Bond has sometimes been a pain in the ass for George Lazenby
Lazenby doesn’t regret walking away from the franchise early. And although he looked back at the role fondly, there were some problems that came with it. Lazenby claimed the producers didn’t like the way he left and spread rumors about him because of it.
“I was badly treated after that,” Lazenby said. “They [producers] told the press that I was difficult to handle, so it was hard to find work.”
In an interview with Home Cinema Choice, lies being told about him was something he hated about being a former James Bond.
“I’ve got a lot of things from it – when people find out you’ve been James Bond you can get in anywhere – but it’s also been a pain in the arse! There have been so many stories made up about me – a lot of bulls****,” he said.
