12 Least Successful Recastings Of Iconic Film Characters

2. George Lazenby - James Bond

Film: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Replacing: Sean Connery I know that I've already bashed George Lazenby in my article on actors famous for just one film, but there's no way you can write an article on bad recastings without mentioning him somewhere. Sean Connery's performance as James Bond was definitive in its day and is arguably still the definitive Bond now (though personally I'm more of a Timothy Dalton fan). It was going to be hard for any actor to follow him in the role, but no-one has ever followed quite as badly as Lazenby. After Connery resigned during the filming of You Only Live Twice, producer Harry Saltzman originally wanted to film The Man With The Golden Gun in Cambodia, with Roger Moore as 007. But production stalled due to political instability in the region and Moore signed on for another series of The Saint on TV. New director Peter Hunt, who had edited several of the previous films, wanted the new film to be more realistic and closer to Fleming's version of Bond. And in his search for realism, he cast a man whose most realistic performance to date had been as a model for Big Fry Chocolate. Like many models who've turned their hand to acting, Lazenby doesn't have a great amount of range. Not only doesn't he look the part as Bond, being too preened and immaculate to capture his rougher qualities, but his delivery is unconvincing and seems frustrated, belying the on-set conflict between him and Hunt. Lazenby decided that he only wanted to play Bond once before shooting was completed, but it was a good decision in any case not to keep him on for Diamonds are Forever. However bad Connery's Bond got in Never Say Never Again, Lazenby's version remains eternally in his shadow.