Over the years, many actors have played the iconic James Bond, with original star Sean Connery racking up six official turns as 007 while Roger Moore holds the current record at seven films as the super-spy. One person that only held the role for a single film is Australian actor George Lazenby, the first man to replace Connery as Bond in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. And while Lazenby's turn as Bond has since been reappraised favorably in the years following its initial release, Lazenby's performance and the circumstances behind his abrupt departure still has fans talking decades later.
Connery publicly announced he was leaving the role of James Bond in 1967's You Only Live Twice, citing a lack of privacy, relatively low salary compared the films' blockbuster success, and a contentious relationship with producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli. With the film franchise still a tremendous hit among audiences and critics, the producers decided to keep the franchise going but with a relative unknown to replace Connery. The filmmakers wasted no time, proceeding to test nearly 400 prospects in 1967 before ultimately settling on Lazenby, who was, at the time, best known for starring in chocolate television commercials. Both of the producers felt Lazenby looked the part and was capable of the physical demands for the role after he reportedly broke a stuntman's nose accidentally during a test fight scene.
Compared to You Only Live Twice, director Peter Hunt wanted to hew closer to Ian Fleming's literary Bond for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, including reducing the emphasis on gadgets and outlandish vehicles. Feeling he lived up to expectation, Saltzman and Broccoli offered Lazenby a seven-film contract before On Her Majesty's Secret Service's premiere only for Lazenby to turn them down.
Lazenby's agent at the time, Rohan O'Rahilly, convinced the actor that the role of the sophisticated, gentleman spy James Bond would quickly prove archaic in the face of growing counter-culture in 1969. Despite plans for 1971's Diamonds Are Forever to be a direct sequel to On Her Majesty's Secret, plans were dropped and Connery was brought back for a single film return. Roger Moore succeeded Connery and proved that the franchise could thrive outside of the original actor's shadow and that James Bond had longevity beyond the 1960s.
While On Her Majesty's Secret Service had the smallest box office totals for the film series at that time, it was still a major success for studio Eon Productions. Reception of Lazenby's performance has divided audiences since the film's debut in 1969, but several influential filmmakers have credited the movie as inspiring their own work. Among these is Christopher Nolan, pointing out that the film's alpine setting helped inform the climactic arctic base in his 2010 film Inception. As for Lazenby, the actor took sporadic supporting roles in television and film. Overall, Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service was a wholly unique, interesting single film in the long-running series and captured the entire franchise at a crossroads.