Sean Connery called James Bond successor George Lazenby ‘a prize s**t’

Trailer for You Only Live Twice directed by Lewis Gilbert

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

You Only Live Twice is back on Tv screens today. Originally supposed to be Connery’s final outing, it kicked off a chaotic period when his replacement shockingly walked away after just one movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, leaving the producers scrabbling to get Connery to return and right the ship with Diamonds Are Forever. Although the Scot famously blasted Lazenby’s actions he also had harsh words for the producers, not to mention being in a supremely strong bargaining position to demand an astronomical fee to reprise his iconic role.

When Connery told the producers he was quitting after You Only Live Twice, Bond producer Cubby Broccoli’s attention was caught by the male model who was starring in the Fry’s chocolate Big Fry TV advert. You can watch it below.

Lazenby was called in to audition and spent all his savings on a Rolex watch and a Saville Row suit that had actually been made for Connery but never collected. When he landed the role, the director Peter R Hunt said; “We wanted someone who oozed sexual assurance, and we think this fellow has that. Just wait til the women see him on screen … I am not saying he is an actor. There is a great deal of difference between an actor and a film star.”

Lazenby was offered a contract for seven films but then the unthinkable happened.

The news was announced the month before the film was even released that Lazenby had quit. He called the role and the Bond films outdated and claimed he was treated badly by the producers, but admitted: “My parents think I’m insane, everybody thinks I’m insane.”

Unimpressed co-star Diana Rigg added: “I truly don’t know what’s happening in George’s mind so I can only speak of my reaction. I think it’s a pretty foolish move. I think if he can bear to do an apprenticeship, which everybody in this business has to do – has to do – then he should do it quietly and with humility. Everybody has to do it.”

DON’T MISS
James Bond Sean Connery: Booze needed for iconic scene ‘So nervous’
Roger Moore or Sean Connery? Battle of The Bonds ‘proved’ who was best
Bond girl Maud Adams helped Hollywood star almost replace Roger Moore

In 2015, Connery said: “Poor Lazenby couldn’t do that because he just didn’t have the experience, even though the director, Peter Hunt, was quoted as saying that he has taught Lazenby all I knew. And in three months!

“Lazenby couldn’t do a good job because you have to have technique to get the character right. I know he behaved like a prize sh*t, alienating people from what they tell me – I’ve never met him – but it wasn’t all his fault.”

Lazenby himself said: “The producers made me feel like I was mindless. They disregarded everything I suggested, simply because I hadn’t been in the film business like them for about a thousand years.”

Indeed, Connery came to his defence when producer Cubby Brocolli said: “He was my biggest mistake in 16 years. He just couldn’t deal with success. He was so arrogant. There was the stature and looks of a Bond, but Lazenby couldn’t get along with the other performers and technicians.”

Source: Read Full Article